Houston father says his son has been detained at Bush airport for 9 days: 'I got shocked'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston father says his son has been detained at Bush Airport for nine days, and he doesn't know why he's being held or if he's safe.

Jamal Alshrouf said he came to pick up his son, Muhanad Alshrouf, when his plane landed on July 5.

But, he said, his son never came out of the airport.

"Fourth of July, I celebrate with my family, my little kids. But, fifth of July was supposed to be the most exciting day for me," he said.

Jamal, who said he is a U.S. citizen, said his son, who lives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, was coming to Houston on an approved U.S. immigration visa offered to minors with at least one parent who is a citizen.

Jamal says he knows Muhanad landed because he told him so during a brief phone call, and he said a supervisor at the airport also confirmed to him that his son had arrived.

But, Jamal said he and the family's attorney have been denied access when they have come to the airport.

"We've asked them repeatedly to give us an idea of what their plans, what their reasons are for continued detention. We're told that they can give us no information," Maria Kari, who runs a non-profit legal advocacy group called Project TAHA, said. "What shocks the mind here is that all of this is unfolding at an airport thirty minutes from us, where people are coming in day in and day out."

They said they don't know exactly where Muhanad is now being held or what kind of treatment he's receiving.

"You talk about the pathways to immigration and right way of doing things. This family has gone by the book," Kari said.

"His dream was to come here when he was a little boy. Most of the time, I'm talking about America. How is the freedom, how is the life? I got shocked. I don't know how this happened with me and with him. I have been living here for more than 20 years," Jamal said.

ABC13 has reached out to U.S. Border Patrol, ICE, and Homeland Security. Eyewitness News has not received any information about this situation from any of those agencies.

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SEE UPDATE: Houston family says Palestinian man was released after being detained at IAH for more than a week