The letters threatening them with death became unbearable.
Surgical nurses Hasanain Alsamawi and his wife, Saleemah Alrubay, decided they must leave Iraq and try to emigrate to another country.
They say Hasanain’s brother worked for the U.S. Army — which is why the family was under death threats.
When the U.S. pulled out of Iraq, the Iraqis who had worked for the Americans were on “hit” lists from Al-Qaida and ISIS.
“My brother left his house and came to live with us, but they knew where we lived and knew where we worked and we lived in fear every day,” Hasanain said.
Hasanain and Saleemah worked at a neurological hospital in Bagdad. Their native language is Arabic, but they speak English, somewhat haltingly, and are well-educated.
On Aug. 9, 2016, the word finally came that they could leave Iraq — six years after they applied. And when the word came, they had virtually no time to leave.
Hasanain and Saleemah first went to Amman, Jordan, then to Chicago, and moved from there to Tucson.
Their son ended up in Finland. He would like to join his parents in Tucson, but President Trump’s temporary travel ban on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq, has halted his efforts for now.
Hasanain’s brother also has permission to leave Iraq but hasn’t been able to.
He and other family members still there are in danger of being killed by extremist groups.
For the time being, though, work to reunite Hasanain’s family in one place has stopped.
Grateful to be in Tucson
It’s a fluid situation, with a federal appeals court blocking key parts of President Trump’s travel ban and the administration pledging to revise the executive order.
President Trump has said his order is necessary to keep radical Islamic terrorists from posing as refugees.
Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi has been quoted as asking the U.S. for a review with the goal of having his country removed from the list.
Refugee advocates say the steps to get to the U.S. were rigorous and lengthy even before the executive order.
“Refugees already go through extensive vetting,” said Margaret Palmer, Migration and Refugee Services Program director for Catholic Community Services, sponsors of Hasanain and Saleemah.
“They must pass through a series of security screenings, including biographic and biometric checks, medical screenings, forensic document testing, and in-person interviews. The information is examined to confirm a refugee’s identity and is checked against law enforcement and intelligence databases including those of the National Counterterrorism Center, Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of State, and the Department of Homeland Security.
“If there is any doubt about who a refugee is, he or she will not be admitted to the United States,” Palmer said.
The Iraqi refugees (“fugees,” they call themselves) are grateful to be in Tucson.
Both Hasanain and Saleemah work at a Target distribution warehouse. They have health insurance and they get food stamps. They take public transportation to get to work or to their mosque for prayer services, although the mosque is far from their modest midtown apartment.
“We wish to live in peace in America. We try to do good, we try to be legal in all respects, and we all work hard,” Hasanain said.
But after going through so much to get here — and after his brother helped the U.S. forces in Iraq — Hasanain said he finds Trump’s executive order frightening because his brother and others targeted by ISIS and Al-Qaida remain in Iraq.
In danger in Iraq because of US service
Hasanain and Saleemah aren’t alone in their feelings of limbo and fear for family members.
“Many refugees, immigrants, and U.S. citizens are waiting to be reunited with a sister, brother, parent or child through the refugee resettlement program,” said Catholic Community Services’ Palmer.
“Temporarily and possibly permanent separation of these families will cause extreme hardship, especially where vulnerable family members are in extreme danger.”
Even a temporary ban on Iraqi visas could directly endanger the lives of the interpreters and translators who served alongside U.S. forces in Iraq, she said.
“By denying this population of visas,” Palmer said, “these individuals and their families may be targeted by our enemies and killed for their service to our country.”
