BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn doctor stranded in Sudan after President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration was reunited with colleagues after a federal judge blocked the travel ban, according to his union.
Dr. Kamal Fadlalla, 33, landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday, a week after he was turned away at an airport in Sudan as he tried to make his way back to the U.S.
The second-year resident at Interfaith Medical Center in central Brooklyn was on vacation visiting family when the president's order was signed, a colleague said.
Fadlalla was unable to leave his home country after Trump halted travel for residents of seven predominantly Muslim countries into the U.S., according to his union, the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR).
On Friday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the order on immigration and refugees in a nationwide decision.
Upon hearing the news, Fadlalla immediately booked his flight, he told ABC News.
CIR members, Councilman Robert Cornegy Jr. and Public Advocate Letitia James gathered at JFK Airport this weekend to greet him, according to his union.
“I’m happy that I’m here now, I can see my patients,” Fadlalla told ABC.
CIR President Eve Kellner noted that Fadlalla is one of thousands affected by the travel ban.
“We are beyond thrilled to have Kamal back, and now we need to keep fighting for all the others who have been unfairly targeted," Kellner said in a statement.
Fadlalla and representatives from Interfaith Medical Center were not immediately available for comment.
"I am here to tell President Trump that this is not a reality show: His actions have real consequences on real lives, both in my district and across the United States,” Cornegy said in a statement.
“I stand with Dr. Fadlalla and will fight for him and others to uphold the ideals this country stands for.”
