Durham man detained by ICE after visa overstay, facing deportation

The wife of a Durham man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] said her husband was legally trying to obtain his citizenship before getting detained.

ICE agents detained Mohamed Shama on Oct. 9 at an immigration meeting in Durham.

Maggie Shama, Mohamed Shama’s wife, said the last several weeks have been a never-ending nightmare. She said they got an appointment for an immigration meeting that took a long time to schedule.

“When I got in, I don’t see [my husband] Shama,” Mohamed Shama said. “I just see my lawyer with her mouth open.

“She goes, 'they took him.' I go, 'what do you mean they took him? Who took him?' And she said, ‘ICE.’”

Maggie Shama said the Oct. 9 meeting was the last time she saw her husband of eight years.

Mohamed Shama was born in Egypt and moved to America with his first wife. Maggie Shama said because his first marriage ended in divorce while he was in the U.S. under a visa, that complicated his legal status. 

The couple was aware he had an order for deportation while his wife was in the process of becoming his citizenship sponsor.

WRAL News reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and was told, "He’s a visa overstay with a final order of removal. No criminal record."

Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said Mohamed Shama entered the U.S. on a B2-tourist visa that required him to depart by May 25, 2014.

"After more than a decade of illegally living in the U.S., ICE arrested him and placed him in removal proceedings," McLaughlin wrote.

McLaughlin said President Donald Trump and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "are committed to restoring integrity to the visa program and ensuring it is not abused" to allow illegal migrants a permanent one-way ticket to remain in the U.S.

"The fact of the matter is those who are in this country illegally have a choice," McLaughlin wrote. "They can use the CBP Home app and receive a free flight and a $1,000 check or they can be arrested, detained and deported."

The family of Mohamed Shama call the statement made by DHS inaccurate. Saying if he did not have proper documentation he would not have able to get his job at AMC, or pursue his degree.   

As of now, authorities are holding Mohamed Shama at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, facing deportation. 

Maggie Shama now worries she may not see her husband before he's sent back to Egypt. 

“I would hope they will let me see him, but I don’t know,” she said.

WRAL News has reached out to local and state lawmakers as well as the attorney representing Shama for comment. 

Family friends have started a GoFundMe to help with Shama's legal expenses.