(RNS) — A Muslim community leader was taken into custody on Monday (Sept. 22) by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Dallas after ICE agents presented him with a letter denying his application for a green card.
Marwan Marouf, a leader of the Dallas chapter of the Muslim American Society, was arrested as he made his way to work after dropping his son off at school, according to a statement from the Muslim Legal Fund of America, which is handling his immigration case. The statement has now been removed from MLFA’s website.
Marouf, who was born in Kuwait and is a Jordanian citizen, is being detained at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, approximately 200 miles west of Dallas. He was able to communicate with his family on Wednesday morning, according to his 27-year-old son, Mohammed Marouf.
A board member of the Muslim American Society, Marwan Marouf also serves as the organization’s public relations and fundraising director and is a well-known figure among Muslims in and around Dallas for his involvement in social and educational work. News of his arrest shocked the community.
“It came out of nowhere. … After the initial shock, my first thought was in regards to my youngest brother …,” said Mohammed. “We didn’t have too much time to really absorb what just happened, but more like ‘All right, what’s next? What’s the next step we have to take?’ Not just for dad, but for our little brother, for him not to be affected.”
The Department of Homeland Security, under which USCIS operates, didn’t respond to Religion News Service’s request for comments in time for publication.
Many community members started posting on social media on Tuesday morning as news of Marouf’s arrest became known, using the hashtag #BecauseOfMarwan to raise awareness about his detention.
Marouf, who is 54, came to the U.S. 30 years ago on a student visa to pursue his master’s degree before obtaining an H-1B visa, according to his son. Around 2012, he began the process of applying for permanent resident status. In 2020, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service issued a notice regarding his pending application, the latest update he received on his case before Monday.
In the retracted statement, MLFA claimed Marouf is being unjustly discriminated against on the grounds of his Muslim faith. “His employer sponsored his temporary work and permanent residence applications for 15 years before USCIS started throwing up roadblocks by mischaracterizing his charitable efforts,” the statement read.
“MLFA is standing by our client, alongside the community he served, to protect his legal rights, including his right to religious freedom, as we fight against the U.S. government’s discrimination and targeting of Muslims in America.”
According to MLFA, the recent denial letter cited reasons invoked by USCIS “from over a decade ago” and “ignored the facts and legal arguments that support Brother Marwan’s eligibility for a green card.”
Mohammed Marouf said his father’s work with organizations under federal scrutiny through MAS likely drew suspicion.
“Unfortunately, some of those organizations were targeted by the government and by others for different aspects,” said Mohammed. “By mischaracterizing, they’ve associated some of the negative claims on some of these other organizations to his name.”
Shaimaa Zayan, director of the Austin chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, denounced “narratives pushed by hate-driven and fear-mongering groups that lack credibility.” In a statement also released on Tuesday, CAIR-TX executive director Mustafaa Carroll called on the Trump administration to release Marouf.
“Both CAIR and CAIR-Texas are deeply concerned about the case of Mr. Marouf, given his respected standing within both Muslim and non-Muslim communities across Texas… We call for transparency and accountability. What specific illegal actions is Mr. Marouf being accused of? Why has he been denied due process?” reads Zayan’s statement.
Noor Wadi, a Dallas-based attorney and a MAS member since 2012, said she didn’t expect Marouf to face deportation while his green card application was still pending.
“He was involved in pretty much anywhere you could see someone needing help, whether that was meal trains for people who needed food, whether that was helping during times of crisis with COVID,” she said. “So it made the news on Monday just even more devastating.”