#Newsflash: Detroit man's family caught in Trump travel ban; sick mother dies after denied entry from Iraq

Mr Mike Hager's mother, Naimma, died a day after she was prevented from boarding a US-bound flight. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM WJBK-TV VIDEO

DETROIT - A Detroit resident has blamed US President Donald Trump's controversial travel ban for the death of his ailing 75-year-old mother, after the elderly woman was prevented from boarding a flight back from her native Iraq last week.

Mr Mike Hager, a US citizen, had tried to board a US-bound flight with his mother, Naimma, and three other family members last Friday (Jan 27), US media reported.

Mr Hager was allowed to pass, but his mother and family members - all of whom are green card holders - were denied access.

Mr Hager's mother, who was ill and attempting to seek medical treatment back in the US, died a day later.

Their flight came on the same day that Mr Trump signed an executive order imposing a 90-day ban on citizens from seven Muslim countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The order also places a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the US, and includes an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria.

Speaking to local news station WJBK-TV on Tuesday, Mr Hager - who owns a local business and had lived in Michigan with his family since 1995 - criticised Mr Trump's ban for breaking up his family.

"They destroyed us. I went with my family, I came back by myself. They destroyed our family," he said.

"I really believe this in my heart. If they would have let us in, my mum - she would have made it and she would have been sitting right here next to me. She's gone because of (Mr Trump)."

Iraq-born Mr Hager moved to to the US in 1995. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM WJBK-TV VIDEO

Born in Iraq, Mr Hager fled his country during the Gulf War and reportedly lived in a refugee camp with his family for four years before settling in the US.

He returned to Iraq in the 2000s to work as an interpreter and cultural adviser for the US Special Forces.




Source from Straits Times