Richardson Community Leader Denied Medical Release From ICE Detention

Lawyers for Marwan Marouf, the “beloved” Muslim community leader from Richardson who has spent nearly four weeks in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, were left “distraught” and “enraged” Thursday morning after Marouf was denied a release on humanitarian grounds that they say is necessary to accommodate Marouf’s heart disorder. 

Marouf, a father of four who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, was arrested on Sept. 22 by ICE agents after dropping his youngest son off at school. His green card application had been denied that day, and authorities charged him with overstaying his visa — a charge that attorneys say is “improper and inaccurate” because it labeled Marouf as an “arriving alien” rather than an applicant for legal residency. That distinction has muddied the waters in immigration court, with an immigration judge ruling that the court lacked jurisdiction to grant Marouf bond because of the “alien” label.

Marouf’s legal representatives told reporters that they’d intended to argue in federal immigration court that his diagnosed heart condition, Brugada syndrome, should be grounds for a humanitarian release from the Bluebonnet detention center in West Texas. The heart condition can be fatal, and Marouf has previously had a heart attack. According to attorneys, Marouf has a pacemaker that nurses regularly monitor, care that cannot be continued while in ICE detention. 

That argument was cosigned in a letter by 29 Texas House Representatives who asked for Marouf to be released from detention. But attorneys found their efforts stunted when Department of Homeland Security officials introduced new charges to the case that accuse Marouf of engaging with a terrorist organization decades ago. Those charges make Marouf ineligible for release on medical grounds. According to DHS, Marouf volunteered with the Richardson-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a major Islamic charity, which was designated a terrorist organization by the federal government in 2001 for funneling funds to Hamas. 

The federal trial against HLF has been criticized by civil rights advocates and organizations such as Human Rights Watch for discriminating against Muslim Americans and relying on hearsay evidence. Marouf’s attorneys emphasized that his contributions to the group, which ranged from running children’s programming to financially sponsoring a Palestinian orphan, took place in the decade before HLF was ruled a terrorist organization, and in no way aided Hamas. 

“Less than 10 minutes before the scheduled master calendar hearing today, in its ongoing attempt to detain and deport our beloved Marwan, DHS once again changed course,” Marium Uddin, legal director of the Muslim Legal Fund of America, said. “Decades-old, repurposed allegations [are] haunting Brother Marwan and maligning his good name at the cost of his mental and physical health. He is, in fact, the victim of a terrible oppression and injustice, and there is nothing heavier than the weight on the shoulders of us and his legal team, knowing that we represent an innocent man.”

Friends and family of Marouf’s say his arrest represents a targeting of muslims, and specifically Palestinians, that has escalated in the months since President Donald Trump took office. Community leaders have also pointed to the Oct. 7 detainment of Ya’akub Ira Vijandre, a filmmaker and Filipino-American muslim who is protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, as further evidence of ICE’s “harassment.” According to the Muslim Legal Fund, Vijandre was making a documentary about Marouf’s contributions to the North Texas community when ICE arrested him, and he is now being held at the Bluebonnet facility. 

One of Marouf’s sons, Malik, is only 25 years old, but said he has taken on the care of his youngest brother in his father’s absence. Their mother was visiting family in Jordan at the time Marouf was arrested. Malik said the family and attorneys advised her not to return to the U.S. “until the dust settles,” despite her having a green card, because they were worried about further retaliation. 

“Getting all the lawyers in place, and obviously [paying] the bills, taking [my brother] to practices, making sure he’s emotionally doing fine. It’s been a lot of responsibility that’s fallen on my shoulders, and it’s been stressful,” Malik told the Observer. 

He added that, while he has been able to visit his father at the Bluebonnet facility, “they have it set up where you can only speak to him” from behind a glass panel using a telephone, “like he’s a criminal.” 

“He’s not one to complain, so regardless of what’s going on, he’s always going to put on a smile,” Malik said. “He’s going to put a smile on his face. He’s going to act like everything is fine. But we’re his kids, we know him. Just by talking to him, seeing him, you can tell … he’s sad.” 

Attorneys say they plan to challenge the legality of Marouf’s detainment in a habeas corpus filing. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23, in which the government is expected to argue its full case against Marouf. 

Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt said he believes Marouf’s case displays the “basic principles of humanity” that are at stake as the federal government encourages a crackdown on immigrants. 

“This is not just about this one case, but it’s about whether or not we live in a society, either we live in a democratic society or an authoritarian society. And that won’t be based on what we claim, what the history books say. It’ll be based on how we behave. Right now, we’re behaving like authoritarians,” Merritt said. “Either we respond like subjects, or we respond like full citizens, full people, and demand our rights from a government that is out of control.”