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Man with skin condition detained by ICE
A man detained by ICE remains in custody as his loved ones say a rare skin condition could point him in a dire situation. FOX 9’s Maury Glover has the story.
WOODBURY, Minn. (FOX 9) - The family of a Woodbury man is worried for his health after he was taken into custody by ICE agents on Saturday because he has a rare genetic skin disorder.
Family concerned
What we know:
As an immigrant from Libya seeking asylum in the U.S., Mohamed Duklef says his brother Hani Duglof has done everything right.
But he says the predicament Duglof is in because of the immigration crackdown is wrong.
"A lot of people who did everything they can in a legal way, but the system failed them and they've been treated very very unfairly," said Duklef.
The backstory:
Duklef says his brother came to Minnesota on a visitor's visa in 2014 to receive treatment for a rare genetic disorder that causes his skin to blister and peel easily.
He also has a narrow esophagus which makes it difficult to swallow solid food, a condition that left him in intensive care for a month a couple of years ago.
Even though Duglof's asylum case is still pending, his brother says ICE agents stopped Duglof near New Richmond, Wisconsin over the weekend.
He was taken to a detention facility at the Whipple Federal Building where he couldn't eat the food and was at risk of getting an infection.
"He said it's okay, but we are all seen like criminals, we have been put on the floor, on concrete floor and there's nothing, it's a crowded place. One bathroom, he said, it so messy, 30 people using it, people laying all over" said Duklef.
Duklef says his brother was taken to Fairview Southdale and doctors were able to give him soft food so he can eat.
But federal agents want to send him to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas, where they wouldn't know how to care for his condition.
"We've been really pushing to keep him in the hospital because we felt that's the safest place for him, better than the detention center," said Duklef.
What they're saying:
Duklef hopes his brother will be released on bond in Minnesota so he can continue to get the medical attention he needs, because if he is deported to Libya with limited access to health care, it would be a death sentence.
"It's a life-threatening situation. And so that's why I'm pushing, advocating for his release and also for his stay in the US to get the best care available," said Duklef.