Katy High School Student Is Back in Texas, But His Visa Woes Are Far From Over

HOUSTON, TX — Mohammad Abu Khadra, the 16-year-old Katy High School student who had been detained in Chicago for visa violations for a week, is back in Texas, but his future is uncertain.

The Jordanian national was met at a Houston airport on Wednesday morning by his brother, Rami Khadra, who resides in Katy.

Mohammad had enrolled in Katy High School under a tourist visa, which is against federal regulations. When he returned to Houston from Jordan in late January, having flown to his home country to renew his visa, he was detained by customs officials at Bush Intercontinental Airport, evidently telling them that he was a student at Katy. He was held in Houston for 48 hours, then sent to a juvenile detention center in Chicago managed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Khadra's family was required to pay for flight to Houston.

"I have a 16-year-old myself at home, I couldn't imagine if something like that happened to my son," Ali Zakaria, an attorney with the firm representing the Khadra family, told the Chronicle. "It's a happy day, and we want to let it sink in so they can enjoy the moment now. Then we'll come up with legal strategy and address legal issues at that time."

Khadra's ordeal occurred in the wake of the Trump administration's decision to temporarily ban immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries — though Jordan is not one of the countries on the list — an executive order that is now being reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Next for the young man is an immigration hearing, though no date for it has been set, and cases similar to his have gone on for years, Zakaria said. What's more, he cannot legally attend public school — holders of tourist visa can attend private schools and take language courses — and returning to Jordan, where his parents live, could make it difficult for him to re-enter the U.S.

"The problem is, because he has family here, if he goes back now it could constitute self-deportation, which has a lifetime impact on immigration status," Zakaria said. "He has not made a decision, and we haven't finalized a strategy, but that's one consequence we would have to consider." Zakaria added that if the young man returns to Jordan, "he will be barred from coming back to U.S. for 10 years at minimum."

Calls to Zakaria's firm and Katy High School were not immediately returned.

— Image courtesy katyalumni.com

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Katy High School Student Is Back in Texas, But His Visa Woes Are Far From Over