Boy whose mom fought travel ban dies

LODI, Calif. — Mourners gathered Saturday at a mosque in California for the funeral of a 2-year-old boy whose Yemeni mother successfully fought the U.S.’ travel ban so she could see him before his death.

Abdullah Hassan died Friday at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, Calif., where his father, Ali Hassan, took him in the fall to get treatment for a genetic brain disorder, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said. The child had been on life support when his mother, Shaima Swileh, arrived earlier this month.

“We are heartbroken. We had to say goodbye to our baby, the light of our lives,” Hassan, a U.S. citizen, said in a statement released by the advocacy group.

Hassan and his wife moved to Egypt after marrying in war-torn Yemen in 2016. Swileh is not an American citizen and remained in Egypt as she fought for a visa for more than a year so the family could move to the United States.

Citizens from Yemen and four other Muslim-majority countries, along with North Korea and Venezuela, are restricted from coming to the United States under President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

As the boy’s health worsened, the father went ahead to California in October to find help for the child. As the couple fought for a waiver from the travel ban, doctors put Abdullah on life support.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit Dec. 16, and the State Department granted Swileh a waiver the next day. She was pictured cradling her son in the hospital 10 days ago.

AP/DAISY NGUYEN Ali Hassan (center in sunglasses) and his father stand Saturday outside the mosque where prayers were held before the burial of Hassan’s 2-year-old son, Abdullah, in Lodi, Calif.