The restrictions imposed on Maher Tarabisi will continue to haunt him long after his 30-year-old son Wael is buried.
Maher, 62, has spent decades caring for her son, who battles a rare genetic disorder called Pompe disease, which causes muscle weakness and severe respiratory problems.
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The disease required around-the-clock care and dozens of surgeries, which Maher carefully handled.
But Maher was abruptly separated from Wael last year as part of US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
When Wael took his last breath last Friday, Maher was not there to hold him. Wael’s funeral will be held at a mosque in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, but Ma will again be absent and will not be able to say a final goodbye.
That’s because Maher remains in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and his requests for temporary release have been denied on each occasion.
“Wael’s last wish was: ‘At least let me see my father. At least let me hold his hand,'” Wael’s sister-in-law Shaad Arnaut told Al Jazeera.
Maher, a Jordanian national, had lived in the United States for many years under a so-called “supervision order” from the court. Despite being ordered deported in 2006, she was allowed to remain in the country to care for her son.
But the conditions of her stay include checking in with ICE every year, which Maher completed for more than 20 years. During that time, he provided documentation to immigration officials that explained complications from his son’s surgery and the care he needed to survive.
But on October 28, 2025, something changed. During Maher’s last check-in, ICE officers detained him as part of President Trump’s hardline immigration policies.
The family spent months trying to convince authorities of the role Maher played in their son’s life. Their pleas fell on deaf ears.
As Arnaut and other family members cared for Wael in his absence, they were acutely aware of the unique bond that father and son had formed over their 30-year relationship.
“It was very scary because we didn’t want to do anything wrong,” Arnaout said. “His body was very vulnerable. We had to wait for a call from Maher so we could ask the questions we wanted to ask.”
“At one point, his feeding tube was maxed out,” she added. “We had to wait until Maher called to show him on video whether we were following the correct steps.”
“ICE is responsible.”
Wael’s family drew a direct line between his death and his father’s forced absence, noting that the 30-year-old had deteriorated physically and mentally as the months of separation dragged on.
During that time, he was admitted to intensive care twice and his health deteriorated during a recent visit.
“ICE is responsible for Mr. Wael’s death,” Arnaout said. “They may not have killed him with the bullet, but they killed him inside.”
As it became clear that Wael was nearing his end, family lawyer Ali Elhoor desperately appealed to ICE authorities to release Maher.
Elhoor first went to the ICE field office in Dallas, where he was told to contact the Bluebonnet Detention Center where Maher was being held.
He was then emailed and sent back to the field office in Dallas before being transferred to another detention center in Alvarado, Texas, an hour’s drive away.
Finally, Mr. Elhor found the clerk in charge and explained the situation. Shortly thereafter, he received an update.
“Essentially, Mr. Maher will only be allowed virtual (visits),” Elhore recalled. “So it’s basically a Zoom call.”
Maher couldn’t be in the room because her son died. Elhor’s efforts to obtain supervised release for Maher for Wael’s funeral had a similar outcome.
“Initially, they seemed to agree. They asked me to email them the exact details of the funeral, including the times and locations of various functions. It looked like they were actually working to get him moving,” Elhore said.
“Then about 15 minutes later, the police officer called me again and said, ‘The director called and said you’re not allowed to attend the funeral.'”
For Elhore, the message was clear. “The decision was made from the top.”
The government’s indifference to Ms Maher’s request has sparked national outrage, with her family sharing their story on a GoFundMe page to raise money for legal costs.
“It’s completely inconsiderate. There’s no moral compass. It’s a shame in this country,” said Mustafa Carroll, interim executive director of the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
“I have four sons. I can’t even imagine what that’s like,” Carol added. “They’re treating him like a serious criminal.”
“This has to stop.”
Mr. Maher has no criminal history or history of failing to comply with rules set by immigration authorities, his lawyer and family said.
They are seeking to reopen Mr. Maher’s immigration case after discovering that the person who originally filed the immigration documents appears to have fraudulently pretended to be an attorney.
Elhore hopes the case, which is ongoing in immigration court, could lead to Maher’s deportation order being overturned. He has lived in the country since 1994.
ICE did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for information about Maher’s case.
But in a statement to NBC News last year, an ICE spokesperson called Maher “a criminal alien and self-proclaimed member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), a brutal foreign terrorist organization that has carried out countless terrorist attacks and plane hijackings.”
Mr. Elhore said this claim was both false and puzzling. He stressed that Maher has “no involvement whatsoever” in the PLO, which collectively refers to a coalition of Palestinian organizations.
Additionally, the PLO was designated a “terrorist” group by the United States in 1987, but has been periodically granted exemptions to maintain a diplomatic presence in the United States.
Arnaout said Wael’s death has given new strength to the movement calling for Maher’s release.
“Maher was Wael’s arms, legs and lungs,” she said. “He’s not holding on. He’s always alone thinking about his son. We don’t want to lose him either.”
“No family should have to go through something like this. No one,” she added. “This has to stop.”
