Wednesday February 1, 2017
By Mike McCarthy
COLUMBUS — A Columbus mother is concerned President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration could delay efforts to reunite her family in the United States.
Muna Guled said she's been working with Community Refugee & Immigration Services (CRIS) since 2013 to bring two of her children from Ethiopia.
"They went through this long process. Many checks were made. DNA was tested. Interviews were done by Homeland security people. They were really at the end of the process, and then we get the executive order that grinds that all to a halt," CRIS Executive Director Angie Plummer said.
President Trump's executive order stops refugees from entering the United States for 120 days.
Guled's 20-year-old daughter Roda and 19-year-old son Yaqub are Somali refugees, and they were in the care of a grandmother, but that relative has died.
Roda has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and other medical conditions, Guled said.
ABC 6 / FOX 28 spoke with the mother with the help of an interpreter.
"I worry a lot all the time. Day and night. I need the government assistance to bring my children here," the mom said.
Plummer said the executive order could cause delays beyond the initial four-month period for other families as well.
"There's a window of time in which people can depart," Plummer said. "And now all of those things expire are going to expire."
Guled has a green card, Plummer said, and she has been working full-time to support her family, including another daughter already living with her in Columbus.
"She wants to raise her children and take care of her (Road) who is ill," Plummer said. "Those are the values our country stands for."
Guled said she's hopeful.
"My dream is to see each other again," she said.