ICE detained Jordanian father of disabled US-citizen son despite standing caregiver accommodation

On October 28, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Maher Tarabishi, a 62-year-old Jordanian national who has lived in the United States since 1994, when he arrived for a routine annual check-in at ICE's Dallas field office. Tarabishi had been permitted to remain in the country since 2008 under a Supervision Order issued on the basis of his son Wael's medical needs; Wael, a U.S. citizen born in 1995, has Pompe disease, a rare progressive muscle disorder, and required round-the-clock care that Tarabishi had provided as his full-time caregiver for nearly two decades. Tarabishi's family said he had attended every required ICE check-in without failure in that time, with no criminal history, and that officers ignored the documentation of Wael's medical needs he brought to the appointment.

DHS said in statements to Newsweek and other outlets that Tarabishi was a "self-admitted member" of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which the department described as a foreign terrorist organization, and that an earlier removal case against him had been dismissed by the Obama administration in 2011 despite that admission. Tarabishi's family disputes the characterization, saying in statements that he has never committed a crime, has paid taxes, and has been mischaracterized; independent reporting has separately noted the PLO has not appeared on the U.S. State Department's foreign-terrorist-organization list since 1987. Neither DHS's statements nor the family's account resolve the underlying dispute over Tarabishi's immigration status.

Tarabishi remained in ICE custody at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas, as of this recording, with no indication from DHS of a change to the legal status or accommodation that had permitted him to remain in the country as his son's caregiver up to the date of his arrest.

Updates

2026-01-23 — Tarabishi's disabled son died without him present [3]

Wael Tarabishi died at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center in Mansfield, Texas, on January 23, 2026, having been hospitalized twice since his father's arrest — most recently after a complication with his feeding tube on Christmas Eve. He was never reunited with his father before his death. In a video recorded before he died, Wael said he was doing poorly without his father's care, saying "ICE took him for no reason."

2026-01-27 — ICE denied Tarabishi's request to attend his son's funeral [4]

Tarabishi's attorney, Ali Elhorr, said an ICE officer had indicated openness to discussing his attendance at Wael's funeral before calling back to say a director had made "the final decision" denying the request. An ICE spokesperson said the agency had not received a formal request to attend the funeral. Wael's funeral was held January 29, 2026, at a mosque in Arlington, Texas, without Tarabishi present.

2026-02-20 — Tarabishi agreed to voluntary departure to Jordan [5][6]

Following Wael's death, Tarabishi's family announced on February 20, 2026, that he had agreed to voluntarily leave the United States for Jordan rather than continue contesting his case from detention, saying the decision was made "to secure his freedom." Neither ICE nor DHS issued an on-record statement on the departure; the family said it was raising funds to help him resettle.