'Facing a certain death;' Man with liver damage, hepatitis B and diabetes facing deportation
DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. - "I don't want my father to die."
But that's exactly what Mariam Charara fears the most as her dad, Median El-Moustrah is facing. Being placed in an ICE detention center since Nov. 12, El-Moustrah has a slew of medical issues. Living with liver damage, hepatitis B, diabetes, and hearing loss, El-Moustrah is now at the mercy of an immigration system that Charara says she's displeased with.
"As a United States citizen I'm ashamed of this system, I am so ashamed of this system," she said.
While his potential exit is imminent, El-Moustrah's issues actually take root more than a decade ago.
"They had asked him back in 2007 when he was in front of the judge about a marriage date and because he forgot his anniversary, they deemed it to be enough evidence to say it was marriage fraud," said Charara.
With a slew of medical issues, her father is facing deportation
Median El-Moustrah is very ill. He has liver damage, hepatitis B, diabetes and hearing loss. And since Nov. 12, he's been in a detention center run by ICE. Facing the prospect of deportation, his daughter is working to exhaust every opportunity to keep her dad from being sent back to Lebanon.
El-Moustrah's marriage to a U.S. citizen in the 1990's was a brief one, lasting about a year. However, he was able to obtain a green card.
Years after his marriage ended, problems started to arise within the legal system after he applied to extend his green card in 2007 - and couldn't remember his anniversary date.
His first wife later stated in an affidavit that they were indeed married for love, but since that court date, he's been at risk for deportation. All of this despite having no criminal record and living in the United States for 30 years.
"He's a businessman. He employees eight other people, he pays taxes every single year," said Charara.
When Charara thinks about what might happen to her dad, she thinks of Jimmy Aldaoud - the metro Detroit man who was deported to Iraq earlier this year. Having never visited the country or spoken the language and facing his own degree of health problems, he died weeks after arriving back in the country when he couldn't get the insulin he needed to survive.
RELATED: Detroit man deported to Iraq in Trump's ICE sweep, dies from lack of insulin
To remedy the issue, Charara has submitted letters to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement from doctors located both in the U.S. and Lebanon, stating that her father - who is awaiting a liver transplant - will not get the medical care he needs if he deported.
Her letter ends by stating El-Moustrah could "face a certain death from his illness."
Charara said her family was informed the day before Thanksgiving that their father could be deported as early as next week.
"I'm just trying to make sure I turn every stone to know I can put my head in that pillow and say I did everything I can," she said.
FOX 2 reached out to ICE for a comment, and they said they could not respond until Monday.