Muslim travel ban could cost Jonesboro man his businesses

A Jonesboro man who employs about 100 people in seven different businesses may have to sell his interests because of President Donald Trump’s travel ban of six primarily Muslim countries and North Korea.

Ahab Alammar, 30, married his fiancee, Lilian, in Syria about 10 months ago. She is a pharmacist, but has been unable to secure a visa to come to the United States, he said. The American citizen has made several trips back to his native country to spend time with Lilian, but he doesn’t know if or when she will be allowed to come to the U.S. He’s hired immigration attorneys, written letters to U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Jonesboro, and several U.S. Senators. He even sent a letter to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

He’s talked with people at the U.S. State Department and can’t get answers. He spent about $30,000 and has not made progress in almost two years of trying to get her a visa, he added.
In the past, it has been easier for the spouse of an American citizen to get a visa, especially if that person is a trained professional like his wife, he said. But not now.

“I’ve talked to several people in my situation, and nobody has gotten a visa … there is no process,” he said. “I’ve been told that everything has been stalled because everything is in limbo because of the ban. One of my lawyers told me the only option I had was to go and vote. I’m a fighter, and I believe in a merit based system. But if the system is rigged, there is no point in fighting.”

Trump’s ban was upheld on a 5-4 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court in June. The ban includes the countries of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea. Trump administration officials have repeatedly said the order isn’t a Muslim ban, and the regimes in these countries are volatile. There is a fear a terrorist cell could locate in the U.S. from one of these countries, travel ban supporters argue.

Those arguments are untrue, Alammar retorts. No Syrians have committed a terror attack in the U.S. to his knowledge, and millions are fleeing the war-torn country to build better lives for their families, he said. His wife lives in Al-Swaida, a town near the Syrian-Jordanian border. Alammar and his wife are not Muslim. They belong to a faith known as Druze, which is closely allied with a similar faith in Israel. Druze has been maligned by Muslim and Christian groups in the region. Alammar said he doesn’t consider himself highly religious, but he wanted to marry someone with a similar cultural background.

ISIS has operated near the city, and about four weeks ago, 13 women in the region where kidnapped by the Islamic group. Rockets have landed only a few miles away from his wife, Alammar said. He lives in constant fear something terrible will happen to her.

“I can’t sleep at night because I’m afraid she might not be alive when I wake up,” he said.

Alammar owns Mango’s Cafe, a hookah bar, and Mango’s Bar and Grill, both in Jonesboro. He owns a gas station in Northeast Arkansas’ hub city, too. While he was still in college at Ohio State University, Alammar began building his businesses. He opened his first Mango’s hookah bar in Columbus, Ohio. He invested in two used tire companies, and he also formed a partnership to open an athletic gym in Columbus. After college, he got a job working as project engineer and shift manager at Unilever, a company that makes everything from brand name soaps to mayonnaise. The job at Unilever led him to Jonesboro as a projects manager.

The travel visa situation has hampered his entrepreneurial efforts. Alammar had hoped to open a bar and grill in downtown Jonesboro, a project that would have cost more than $1 million and would have employed scores of people, but he can’t take risks like that without his wife’s situation being settled.

Another option would be for the couple to move to Canada. Visas are much easier to acquire in Canada, and he’s exploring that option. If they move to Canada, he will sell his businesses, he said.

In about one week, Alammar plans to return to his native Syria. He’s rented a house in his wife’s hometown and will stay there until they can figure out a path forward, he said. The country is still war-torn, and it’s dangerous for a man of his age to return, but living without his wife isn’t an option, he said. While in Syria, he may work for nonprofit or charity organizations, he said.

Alammar came to the U.S. as a teenager after his father was murdered on a work trip to Saudi Arabia. His mother remarried a Syrian-American and he was able to bring the family to America. Alammar has compared his journey to the U.S. to winning the lottery, and he’s grateful for the opportunities he’s received in the country.

But he can’t believe the Trump administration can negatively impact the lives of millions of people and no one else in the government has the courage to oppose him.

“I love this country so much. You can accomplish anything you want to accomplish in America,” he said. “I owe this country so much. I just want a fair process with objectives and timelines. That’s all I’m asking for.”