Immigration officials prepare to execute man for forgetting his anniversary
Community leaders will stand with the family of Median El Moustrah outside their home in Dearborn Heights Monday to draw attention to the latest death sentence to be handed out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. El Moustrah suffers multiple medical conditions that require regular attention stemming from hereditary liver disorder. He was seeking a transplant until ICE ordered him to return to Lebanon despite the country’s current civil unrest and a government shutdown that would make the operation impossible. El Moustrah’s case is eerily similar to the needless death that resulted from the deportation of Jimmy Aldaoud earlier this year.
Immigration officials wrongly accused El Moustrah of marriage fraud in 2012 because he couldn’t remember his wedding anniversary 15 years after he'd been divorced and remarried. His green card was revoked despite a deposition from his ex-wife explaining that their marriage was legitimate and describing the circumstances of their divorce. El Moustrah’s lawyer made a last ditch request for a stay with ICE but was informed hours before Thanksgiving that her client’s removal is “...an ICE civil immigration enforcement priority”.
Those standing up for El Moustrah Monday will include his daughter, Mariam Charara, his business partner, Mohammed Fouani and US Representative Rashida Tlaib and Roberto Torres, Director of Immigrant Affairs & Economic Inclusion in Detroit.
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For media inquiries, please contact Erik Shelley, 248-982-6326 erik@miunited.org
