The Arab American News
Author's Posts
Senator Alex Padilla is all of us
June 14th, 20250 By Pilar Marrero There are incidents that serve as perfect metaphors for a historical moment. The image of our first Latino U.S. senator, Alex Padilla, mistreated and pushed to the ground with his hands about to be handcuffed by a group of federal agents is one of them. It’s an image deeply familiar in the history of the United...
Michigan man faces federal charges after he misses his flight, then made a bomb threat to delay it
June 14th, 20250 ROMULUS — A man in his twenties from Monroe is facing federal charges that could land him in prison for several years after making a false bomb threat in an attempt to delay a departing flight for which he was late. The incident occurred on the morning of Thursday, June 5, when the man called in a hoax about an explosive device aboard...
Dearborn Heights man faces 30 years in prison for alleged sexual assault, harboring of teen girl
June 14th, 20250 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Wayne County prosecutors filed multiple felony charges against a 62-year-old Arab man from Dearborn Heights last week for allegedly harboring a 16-year-old runaway girl, sexually assaulting her and providing her with marijuana. The teen had reportedly escaped from a juvenile facility in Dearborn Heights in mid-March...
Michigan State University agrees to pay $29.75 million to three students injured in 2023 mass shooting
June 13th, 20250 EAST LANSING — Attorneys for Michigan State University announced on Tuesday that the university has reached a nearly $30 million settlement to compensate three students who survived the mass shooting on campus in East Lansing in 2023. Attorneys Mick Grewal and Scott Weidenfeller of Okemos-based Grewal Law stated that a $14.25 million...
Civil rights leaders condemn militarized crackdown on LA protests: “This is not the America we know”
June 13th, 20250 By Sunita Sohrabji In a powerful show of solidarity, leading Black and Latino civil rights organizations held a joint press conference June 11 to denounce what they called “authoritarian overreach” by the Trump administration. Their remarks, delivered during a virtual press conference, expressed outrage over the deployment of...
From allies to adversaries: Trump and Musk’s public feud shakes markets and politics
June 6th, 20250 In a dramatic turn of events, the once-amicable relationship between Donald Trump and tech magnate Elon Musk has devolved into a public and acrimonious feud, sending shockwaves through political and financial arenas. On Thursday, President Trump threatened to cut off government contracts with billionaire Elon Musk's companies, while...
Arab American police officer sues Melvindale Police Department for alleged discrimination
June 6th, 20250 An officer with the Melvindale Police Department is suing the department and the city, claiming that he was harassed and discriminated against because he is Muslim. Marko Law, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Corporal Hassan Hammoud, alleged the officer was targeted for reporting misconduct, creating a hostile work...
Hamtramck showdown: City manager sues Council with 256 allegations amid explosive claims of corruption against police chief
June 6th, 20250 HAMTRAMCK – Following his placement on temporary administrative leave by unanimous vote of the Hamtramck City Council on May 27, City Manager Max Garbarino fulfilled his earlier warning by filing a lawsuit on Monday against Hamtramck and its City Council. The lawsuit, submitted to Wayne County Circuit Court, includes 256 allegations of...
New Trump travel ban triggers global backlash, revives memories of the Muslim ban
June 6th, 20252 On Thursday, officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned from visiting the United States expressed dismay and disbelief at President Trump's new sweeping travel ban as his administration intensifies its immigration crackdown. Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday barring citizens of 12 countries from...
Uranium enrichment stalls U.S.-Iran talks, Israel continues genocidal war on Gaza and escalates attacks on Lebanon and Syria
June 6th, 20250 The past week brought no breakthroughs in the multiple flashpoints across the Middle East. Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians in Gaza raged on, alongside escalated military aggression on Lebanon and Syria. Meanwhile, negotiations between the United States and Iran made no meaningful progress, as Tehran insisted on its...
Pork on pizza, slurs at pickup: Domino’s in Waterford accused of Islamophobia
June 6th, 20250 WATERFORD — The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Michigan) has filed a civil rights complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, accusing a Domino’s Pizza outlet in Waterford of violating the constitutional rights of two Muslim women and their children following an alleged incident of...
Arab American Civil Rights League celebrates its founding and confronts today’s challenges: “We remain committed to achieving justice”
June 6th, 20250 DEARBORN – Under the theme “Fight for Justice” the Arab-American Civil Rights League (ACRL) held its 13th Annual Gala at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, drawing a large crowd that included public officials, civil rights activists and representatives from numerous communities across Metro Detroit,...
Dearborn man pleads guilty in federal gun charge after threatening Jewish temple visitors in Detroit area
May 30th, 20250 DETROIT – A Dearborn man has pleaded guilty to a federal firearms charge that could carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years, more than two years after he threatened to kill visitors at a Jewish temple in Oakland County and attempted to illegally purchase firearms. Hassan Chokr, 37, admitted on Tuesday to possessing a firearm...
Trump pardons donor’s son weeks after $1M fundraiser, spares him prison and $4M fine
May 30th, 20250 President Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, a man who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes, one month after his mother attended a major fundraiser for the president, according to a new report from the New York Times. The Times reports that a pardon application submitted around Trump’s inauguration cited efforts by Walczak’s mother, Elizabeth...
Trump redraws Middle East lines: Pressures Israel, courts Iran, lifts Syria sanctions as Gaza burns
May 30th, 20250 Trump pressures Israel amid Gaza carnage, Iran talks and Syria sanctions lift — while Yemen escalates support for Palestinians Despite Israeli frustration with Washington’s new approach to the Middle East’s burning crises, President Trump pressed forward last week with his campaign to reshape the region in ways that serve American......
City Manager Garbarino suspended as Hamtramck crisis deepens
May 30th, 20250 In a dramatic escalation of the political and administrative crisis gripping Hamtramck, the City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to place City Manager Max Garbarino on paid administrative leave. The decision came just days after his controversial move to place Police Chief Jamil Altaheri on temporary leave following allegations of...
Michiganders pessimistic about economic impact of Trump’s tariffs, poll finds
May 30th, 20250 A new statewide poll by the Detroit Regional Chamber reveals that a majority of Michigan voters are concerned about the potential harm of President Trump’s tariff policies, especially as economic uncertainty grows. The survey, conducted in late April, found that 54 percent of registered voters believe the tariffs will negatively affect......
Livonia proposes $150 million bond on August 5 ballot to fund new police HQ, library and fire station upgrades
May 30th, 20252 Livonia – The City Council has unanimously approved a ballot proposal for the August 5 election that would allow residents to vote on a $150 million tax initiative aimed at funding major construction and revitalization projects across the city. The proposal includes building a new police headquarters, a modern public library and...
Michigan lawmaker pushes a bill to ban artificial dyes, additives in school food
May 29th, 20251 A Michigan state representative has introduced a bill to ban several ingredients and synthetic food dyes from school foods starting next summer. The list includes four ingredients: brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and titanium dioxide; and five dyes: Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Yellow 6. Supporters...
Trump’s alien registration requirement threatens an invasion — of Americans’ privacy
May 28th, 20250 By Edward Kissam Complying with the bevvy of new immigration-related pronouncements out of the Trump White House can seem an impossible task. Instructions are either contradictory, legally incorrect or just plain confusing. More alarming, the orders and implementing regulations raise serious concerns over privacy for citizen and...
Attention must be given to healing the psychological wounds of the war on Gaza
May 28th, 20250 One thing of which we can be certain is that there will be consequences to the genocide in Gaza. It is difficult to wrap one’s arms around the excruciating pain being endured by Palestinians in Gaza. We only know the rough outline of the devastation. Tens of thousands have been murdered in aerial bombardments, over 100,000 have......
This is how Sterling Heights aims to redefine the city’s commercial landscape
May 28th, 20250 STERLING HEIGHTS – As part of its efforts to revitalize business developments across the city, the Sterling Heights City Council is expected to approve a new ordinance that would broaden the types of businesses permitted to operate within more than 20 commercial plazas and strip malls located at nine key intersections throughout the...
Global pressure mounts on Israel amid Gaza carnage and regional shifts
May 23rd, 20250 Amid Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, and the harrowing images of starvation and genocide emerging from the devastated territory, international voices intensified last week, calling for urgent restraint against Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. European leaders hinted at punitive measures ranging from economic boycotts to......
Deadly shooting at Israeli Embassy event in Washington: Attacker shouts “Free Palestine”
May 23rd, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Amid ongoing international accusations of genocide against Israel in Gaza, now entering its 17th month, tensions surrounding rising hostility toward Israelis have been reignited after two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. were fatally shot during an attack in which the attacker reportedly...
Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students, says thousands must transfer
May 23rd, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students in its escalating battle with the Ivy League school, saying thousands of current students must transfer to other schools or leave the country. The Department of Homeland Security announced the action Thursday, saying......
