(31 Jan 2017) Samira Dahir, 32, of Minneapolis, left her baby girl behind when she came to the U.S. as a Somali refugee in 2013.
After years of trying to bring the girl to the U.S., Dahir planned to be reunited with her on Tuesday.
But she learned Monday that her daughter was not allowed to travel because of President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from certain countries.
Dahir, a legal permanent resident, said she became pregnant with her youngest daughter, Mushkaad, after she was granted refugee status.
She said because the girl was conceived afterward, she had two choices: Either put her own resettlement on hold for several more years and re-apply to come with her daughter, or leave her daughter behind and try to bring her to the U.S. later.
Dahir chose to do the latter, and when she came to Minnesota in March 2013 she left Mushkaad with a friend in Uganda.
According to information from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the relationship between a "principal refugee" and a child must have existed before the refugee was admitted to the U.S. or granted asylum.
It notes specifically that a child must have been born or conceived before a refugee is allowed entry or granted asylum.
Dahir has been working through legal channels to bring her youngest daughter to Minnesota for years.
She said Monday that she wished Trump would change his mind about the executive order.
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