Wael Tarabishi, a 30-year-old man with a rare condition, has sadly passed away mere weeks after ‘his beloved father, primary caregiver and constant life companion’ Maher Tarabishi was taken into ICE custody
16:10, 28 Jan 2026Updated 17:15, 28 Jan 2026
Loved ones say Wael Tarabishi’s ‘body could no longer handle the stress’ after his beloved father was taken away(Image: Tarabishi Family)
A man with serious disabilities has sadly passed away after his father, who had been his primary caregiver, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement back in October. Now his family has issued one last heartbreaking plea.
Wael Tarabishi, 30, died on Friday, January 23, from complications related to Pompe disease, a rare genetic condition which causes progressive muscle weakness. If left untreated, sufferers will usually die of respiratory complications. His father, Maher Tarabishi, had dedicated himself to caring for his son. Then, on October 28, 2025, everything changed.
During a scheduled annual check-in at the Dallas ICE Field office, Maher, who arrived in the U.S. from Jordan in 1994, was detained and taken into custody at the Blubonnet Detention Facility in Anson, some 200 miles west of Dallas, Texas.
A matter of weeks later, Wael’s health declined drastically, which his family have attributed to the extreme stress of the situation. A GoFundMe page set up for the Tarabishi family reads: “Wael’s body could no longer handle the stress. We have said before that Maher’s daily presence in Wael’s life was not optional; rather, it was essential to his survival and well-being.”
On November 20, 2025, Wael, who required around-the-clock care, was taken to the hospital with a high fever, where medics diagnosed him with sepsis and pneumonia in both lungs.
Wael returned home one week later but was readmitted in December when his feeding tube came out, and following a second surgery, he became unconscious. Writing on social media, the Tarabishis said: “He passed without his beloved father, primary caregiver and constant life companion, Maher, by his side.”
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Maher Tarabishi dedicated himself to caring for his son, and now wishes to be allowed to attend his funeral(Image: Tarabishi Family)
Maher’s attorney, Ali Elhorr, told People magazine that the father had entered the US lawfully with a visa, but in 2006, his asylum application was denied and a deportation order was issued.
That same year, after Wael was officially diagnosed, Maher became his primary caretaker and was therefore permitted to remain in the States to look after him.
Mr Elhorr said: “He had check-ins with ICE every year. Never missed a single one. Was never late to one.” Maher’s daughter-in-law, Shahd Arnaout, says that Maher had taken a folder with him to this latest check-in, filled with evidence detailing Wael’s medical needs. Despite this, he was still detained.
Shahd, 25, asserted: “They may not kill Wael with a bullet, but they killed him inside by taking the only person he asked for. Maher was his caregiver, his father, his best friend, his everything.”
According to a social media statement, the Tarabishi family recently discovered that Maher’s asylum case had been denied, as the attorney who’d filed his original asylum case had been fraudulently practising law without a license. This was revealed during a review of the case carried out at the beginning of Tarabishi’s ongoing ICE detention.
Mr Elhorr has now filed a motion with the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals to have the case reopened. The statement reads: “Like the other victims of this fraudulent attorney, Maher’s immigration case was denied, and he was ordered removed based on the asylum application that was filed on his behalf.”
As reported by KERA News, in a statement published last month, an ICE representative claimed Maher was a “self-admitted member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation,” the globally recognised representative of Palestinians. However, his family have dismissed these allegations as “untrue, defamatory claims”. They are now asking for Maher’s humanitarian release so that he can be there to say his final goodbyes at Wael’s funeral, set to be held this Thursday (January 29).
This comes amid widespread concerns over the actions of ICE agents in the US, and in particular, Minneapolis. The presence of agents has caused friction in communities across the country since President Trump decided they would be responsible for carrying out his scorched-earth immigration agenda. While opposition has grown over the last year, the events of the last few weeks have sent seismic shockwaves through the White House.
Earlier this month, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot dead by an ICE agent in the US city of Minneapolis provoked widespread anger throughout America. Tensions were further ignited after Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old US citizen, was shot dead during an altercation with agents in the same city on January 24.
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