A Detroit man who claimed that President Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order led to the death of his mother was reportedly not telling the truth.
Mike Hager, an Iraqi-born U.S. citizen, made the claim after returning to the U.S. following a visit to Iraq to get his mother, who was a permanent U.S. resident, reports the Daily Mail.
Hager previously worked in Iraq as a translator for U.S. Special Forces. “We put our lives on the line,” he said. “I got shot twice in Iraq in Fallujah. And I sacrificed, give all my life to this country. Now I’m coming over here with my family not with me.”
Hager blamed Trump’s order, which temporarily banned the citizens of seven predominantly-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., including green card holders, like his mother.
Hager said his mother fell ill while visiting Iraq, so he went to bring her back to the U.S. for urgent treatment. He said she was prevented from making the trip due to the ban, and died soon after. He gave an account of what he says happened:
I was just shocked. I had to put my mom back on the wheelchair and take her back and call the ambulance and she was very very upset. She knew right there if we send her back to the hospital she’s going to pass away — she’s not going to make it. I really believe this in my heart: if they would have let us in, my mom — she would have made it and she would have been sitting right here next to me. She’s gone because of him. You have to understand you have a daughter — you have family — imagine if somebody does that to your mom. You put the terrorists on this side — the bad people — but don’t mix everyone together.
An Islamic leader in Dearborn, Michigan, claims Hager’s 75-year-old mother died in Iraq five days before Trump initiated the ban, reports WJBK. Husham Al-Hussainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center said she died on Jan. 22.
Al-Hussainy added that Hager’s mother had kidney disease, for which she was receiving treatment in the U.S. He says he saw a notification about the mother’s death on Facebook about a week before the executive order was signed, reports The Huffington Post.
Sources: Daily Mail, The Huffington Post / Photo credit: WJBK
