A Yemeni mother was granted a travel ban waiver to see her dying toddler.
Ali Hassan’s 2-year-old son Abdullah suffers from a genetic brain disorder and is being kept alive by a ventilator, according to NBC News. Hassan, an American citizen from Yemen, stays by his son’s side. Shaima Swileh, his wife, is also Yemeni and lives in Egypt.
Saad Sweilem, Swileh’s lawyer, told The San Francisco Chronicle the waiver was granted on Tuesday. Swileh was summoned to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, to receive a presidential proclamation and a visa. They are working on securing a flight to Oakland, California, where Abdullah is hospitalized.
“She is very relieved, very thankful, and she just cannot wait to come and see her son,” Sweilem said.
The couple begged the State Department to give Swileh a waiver since doctors said the boy would die soon, reports Fox40.
"She was told she needs a waiver to be able to enter the country. So for the last year, she’s been waiting on a waiver and never received one,” Sweilem said on Monday.
Since the turmoil began, Abdullah’s condition has worsened.
"Doctors and physicians have told us that it’s a matter of days, not a matter of weeks, for Abdullah," Sweilem added.
"My wife's calling me every day wanting to kiss and hold her son for that one last time,” Hassan said on Monday.
Yemen is one of the Muslim-majority nations on the Trump administration’s travel ban list. The others are Libya, Iran, Somalia and Syria. Venezuela and North Korea are also on the list.
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