Shaima Swileh, the Yemeni mother of a two-year-old boy who is on life support in an Oakland hospital, will finally be able to travel to the United States to see him. Why was this an issue to begin with? Swileh lives in Egypt, but because she’s Yemeni, she’s restricted from traveling to the U.S. under the White House’s racist and discriminatory travel ban.
Remember, this travel ban was supposed to stop “terrorists” from entering the U.S. Tellingly, it targeted only Muslim-majority countries, with a liberal application, including Yemen, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Syria. Of course, with this senselessly broad application, it’s actually keeping families apart, like this mother and her dying son. People can apply for waivers, but having them granted has been extremely rare so far.
The State Department finally granted her a waiver on Tuesday, according to officials with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Ali Hassan, the child’s father, recently appeared on CNN to beg consular officials to expedite Swileh’s humanitarian visa application. The last time Swileh saw her child was on October 1, when father and son flew to the U.S. to receive treatment for his genetic brain condition. (Hassan and their child, Abdullah, are both American citizens.)
On CNN, before the visa was granted, Hassan spoke emotionally and openly, and in some sentences, straight to President Donald Trump:
“Time is running out for my son, to be honest. All she wishes is to see her son, and that’s it. We want to be together. All families, they’re supposed to be together. Right now, with my son’s situation, he’s facing death. I’m going through losing my son. It’s really hard for me and for my mother and for my family and my wife, too. It’s just really hard.”
While Swileh aims to get the earliest flight possible, according to Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR’s Sacramento Valley chapter, the shortest flights can easily take 20 hours or more.
According to Bay Area television station KRON, doctors informed Hassan that patients like his son usually stay on life support for two weeks, and at maximum one month. His son has been on a ventilator for more than a month already, according to his father.
“All she wishes is to hold his hand for the last time,” Hassan said in an interview on Sunday. “If I could take him off the ventilator and to the airplane, I would take him to her. I would let her see him. But he won’t make it.” Now, hopefully, she will.