Dear Friend,

Time is running out for Mohammed and his family as they remain in Iraq and in danger after sacrificing everything for the United States and its military.

We are counting on you to immediately write to your Members of Congress and ask for them to direct an official inquiry to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and urge them to fulfill the promise we gave to Mohammed and his family so many years ago.

With the unknowns of the impending U.S. election, time is of the essence to advocate for the immediate issuance of the family’s immigrant visas and travel to the United States. We must do what is within our power to help this family who suffered so much and for so long in our name.

On September 21, 2024, the family’s pro bono attorney finally received a response from the Resettlement Support Center for the Middle East and North Africa (RSC MENA), operated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with these words: “Case IZ-XXXX5595 is currently in process. The next steps forward are those concerning travel and its arrangements. Once these arrangements are made, RSC MENA will update your client accordingly.”

Please send the following templated letter to your Members of Congress immediately.  You can find your Members of Congress and their contact information linked here.  We need EVERYONE to bombard their reps NOW about this case, so we can push it over the finish line before it is too late.

Pete

Templated Letter:

(Date)

The Honorable (______)

(Office address)

United States Senate/House 

Washington, D.C. 

Re:                  Mohammed A.
                        A-file No. XXXXX6280 
                        RSC Case No. IZ-XX5595

Dear (________),

My name is (_______), and as your constituent, I am asking for your support to advance the above-referenced Direct Access P-2 refugee application for the reasons described below.

In 2010, Mohammed A. a father of six living in Iraq, asked the United States government for help. His family had been working with the American military as translators and technicians for years after the US-led invasion. Mohammed’s brother was found in a dumpster after he was killed in a terrorist attack while working for U.S. forces. One of his sons was shot three times in the face and arms after leaving his job at a U.S. military base. His other son received a separate bullet, this time wrapped in a note saying that the bullet was meant for his heart because he worked with the Americans.

Both sons, Wesam and Khalid, along with their eldest sister, Duaa, would eventually resettle in America, under the promise of the U.S. government to save those who had come under threat of death because of their work with the American military. By law, that same promise extended to their father, Mohammed, as well as their mother and siblings left behind in Iraq. Wesam, Khalid, and Duaa are now naturalized United States citizens, but have watched the years slip by as the rest of their family languish in the quagmire of U.S. immigration law. 

Over the years of waiting for their refugee visas, their father suffered kidney failure; their little sister could not go to school; their younger brothers could not make a life for themselves as they grew older. The family was once forced to flee to Turkey as their neighborhood in Iraq became infested with Jaysh al-Mahdi militia who began spreading word the family was marked for death as traitors. 

In August 2016, hope flared bright as the family received approval to depart from Jordan to New York. They sold all their belongings only to be turned away at the US Embassy with a last-minute and unexplained revocation of their refugee visas. Devastated and homeless, the family crammed themselves into a one-bedroom apartment while their appeal dragged on for another two years. Their refugee visas were approved once again, only to ground to a halt following President Donald Trump’s “Muslim Ban.” Years passed with no additional progress on their case, despite legal, congressional, and community advocacy on their behalf. 

Then, on September 21, 2024, the family’s pro bono attorney finally received a response from the Resettlement Support Center for the Middle East and North Africa (RSC MENA), operated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with these words: “Case IZ-XXXX5595 is currently in process. The next steps forward are those concerning travel and its arrangements. Once these arrangements are made, RSC MENA will update your client accordingly.”

With the unknowns of the impending U.S. election, time is of the essence to advocate for the immediate issuance of the family’s immigrant visas and travel to the United States. We must do what is within our power to help this family who suffered so much and for so long in our name. Please direct an official inquiry to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and urge them to fulfill the promise we gave this family so many years ago. 

For more specific details on the family’s case, to include the above redacted information, please contact attorney May Whitaker of the International Refugee Assistance Project at may.whitaker@outlook.com or 415-464-7943.  

Sincerely,

            (Your Name, Contact Information)