Four month old Fatemeh Taghizadeh and her family were on their way to the US from Dubai when the ban on Iranian citizens from entering the USA was signed by Trump.
Baby Fatemeh was born with twisted arteries resulting in a very complicated heart condition and needs an emergency surgery to stay alive. With slim chances of such complex surgical procedure being successful in Iran, her family made arrangements for the baby to be flown to Portland, USA for treatment. The family was quickly sent back to Iran from Dubai and were advised to apply for a visa after the expiration of the ban.
Fatemeh's uncle cried out about how difficult it was gathering all the paperwork needed for the infant's travel which took about three weeks and just when everything was set, Trump placed a temporary ban
For getting the visa, they ask for a lot of the paperwork,” Sam Taghizadeh, Fatemah’s uncle said. "You have to do many things, you know. For three weeks we [were] working for every single thing they wanted. It’s like a nightmare,” Taghizadeh said. “All the paper, everything was ready, and just in the last minute they cancelled everything.”
She needs the surgery as soon as possible. They cannot wait, you know. Even I asked, can they wait a couple [more] years? They said no. This thing has to be as soon as possible.”
On Friday, representative Suzanne Bonamici took Fatemah’s case to the floor of the House of Representatives, and condemned Trump’s order as she gestured at a photo of the infant.
“This is Fatemeh. She is not a terrorist. She’s a four-month-old baby girl who is in immediate need of open-heart surgery,” Bonamici said.
“Her parents desperately want the best care for her, so they planned to bring her from their home in Iran to Portland, Oregon, to one of the best hospitals for paediatric heart surgery.”
Bonamici said that she has offered help to the Taghizadehs and that she hopes federal courts “invalidate this unconstitutional executive order soon, and I hope it’s in time for baby Fatemeh”.
Well luck smiled on the infant as she has been granted a waiver to enter the USA for an emergency medical treatment. This was announced by the New York governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday.
Several congressional democrats reportedly submitted a formal request to the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to grant a waiver for the infant and her parents to travel to the US. They argued that granting the waiver would be "moral and humanitarian" as well as send a signal to Iran that "even in the face of highly strained diplomatic relations, the United States offers help to those suffering tragic circumstances."
"We will continue to work with the International Refugee Assistance Project and their partners to ensure this baby receives the treatment she needs, and fight for those being unfairly shut out of America's gates by this policy," Cuomo added.
The authorisation comes as a federal judge in Seattle a temporary nationwide halt on Trump's travel ban.
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