A Muslim American has been blocked from returning to the U.S., despite holding citizenship since 2010.
Yussuf Awadir Abdi, an imam from Salt Lake City, Utah, is stranded in Kenya after a trip to pick up his wife and children, the The Salt Lake Tribune reports. On Wednesday, Abdi and his family attempted to board a flight to the U.S., when the Utah man was blocked from traveling home.
His wife and five children were allowed on the plane. Abdi's wife and two of their children have American visas, while three of their children also have American passports.
Despite being an American citizen, the airline blocked Abdi from boarding the plane telling him "he couldn't board because the U.S. wouldn't accept him," according to Jim McConkie, an attorney who co-founded the Refugee Justice League of Utah.
Daily News reports that "it appears the U.S. was not a part of the decision to block Abdi," although the publication points out U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on immigrants and refugees from several Muslim majority countries caused similar issues earlier this year.
It's unclear why Abdi is blocked from returning to the U.S.
In March, a similar instance occurred when 17-year-old Muslim American Zubaidah Alizoti was blocked from boarding a flight back to the U.S. with her family. The Tennessee resident was returning from a spring break trip to perform Umrah in Saudi Arabia. As she transited through Istanbul, she was unable to board her return flight.
The issue was with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
At the time, TSA told StepFeed by phone that international carriers are required to send information on all passengers before they are allowed to board flights. This security information is required for all passengers – regardless of their citizenship – on domestic and international flights.
"It's a layer of unseen security that usually remains unseen. In this situation, that wasn't the case due to an error from the airline," a TSA spokesperson said.
The young woman was later allowed to board a flight home to the U.S. after the TSA issue was resolved.
Abdi's case remains to be resolved and local Muslims activists in Utah are raising concerns, pointing out that the imam had feared this could happen to him when traveling.
Noor Ul-Hasan, a Muslim community leader and activist, told Star Tribune that she believes Abdi was blocked from returning because he is a religious leader. She said she warned Abdi about this possibility before he left on the trip.
"This is what I was afraid of," she said. "There's absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be allowed to re-enter."
Although Trump's two attempts at travel bans targeting several Muslim-majority countries have been blocked in federal courts, Muslims and non-Muslim Arabs have been detained at U.S. borders and even denied entry to the U.S. in recent months.
High profile American Muslims such as the son of Olympic boxing champion and activist Muhammad Ali and America's first-ever hijabi Olympic champion Ibtihaj Muhammad have been detained by customs' officials upon reentry to the U.S. as well.