A Detroit man who told a local news station that his mother died in Iraq after President Donald Trump’s travel ban prevented her from reentering the U.S. actually died several days before those restrictions were imposed, his imam told WJBK.
Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center imam Husham Al-Hussainy told the news station that Mike Hager’s mother, Naimma, passed away on Jan. 22, five days before the ban was announced.
Hager previously told the local outlet that his mother and three other family members were prevented from boarding a flight to the U.S. on Friday even though they had green cards. Hager said that he was allowed through because of his American citizenship, and that his ailing mother passed away the next day.
Al-Hussainy confirmed to WJBK that Hager’s mother was living in Michigan and receiving treatment for kidney disease prior to the family’s trip to Iraq to visit family. But he said Hager misled the news station about the timing of her death.
WJBK was unable to reach Hager to ask about the discrepancies in his account.
The President on Friday passed an executive order barring all travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia from the U.S. for a period of 90 days, and banning all refugees for 120 days.
The ban went into immediate effect, causing chaos at U.S. airports and preventing some green card holders from reentering the country until the Department of Homeland Security clarified that the order should not affect legal permanent residents.
