Federal judge orders ICE to stop coercing Iraqi detainees to sign deportation papers
June 24th, 20180 DETROIT – On Monday, a federal judge ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to stop coercing Iraqi detainees into signing a document giving up their right to be in the U.S. and agreeing to be deported. The government is trying to send back the mostly Christian detainees, but the ACLU said their return to Iraqi...
ACC awards $30,000 in scholarships at 16th annual golf outing
June 24th, 20180 TROY — The Arab American Chaldean Council (ACC) awarded a total of $30,000 in scholarships to 30 students of leadership and good academic standing during the 16th annual Golf Outing and Scholarship Awards Dinner on June 20. ACC is a premier non-profit human service organization providing services in Southeast Michigan and it...
Democratic lawmakers propose lowering Michigan voting age to 16
June 23rd, 20181 LANSING – The national wave of youth activism sparked by the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. is leading Michigan lawmakers to push for lowering the voting age to 16. State Sen. David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights) and State Rep. Yousef Rabhi (D-Ann Arbor) introduced the mirror bills in the House and...
Michigan officials, activists condemn anti-BDS bills as Gaza protest persist
June 23rd, 20181 DEARBORN – As grisly images from “Right of Return” protests along the Gaza-Israeli border become increasingly harder for the American public to ignore, lawmakers across the U.S. are reacting with anti-BDS bills that seek to hamper efforts to boycott the nation’s most significant ally in the Mediterranean – shifting the...
Dearborn Public Library launches its annual summer reading program
June 23rd, 20180 DEARBORN — The Dearborn Public Library (DPL) launched its annual summer reading program with its kickoff event hosted in the Henry Ford Centennial Library Auditorium on June 18. The all-ages Summer Reading Kickoff was an amusing event of storytelling, music and hands-on fun that put on an entertaining show for everybody in the...
Crestwood High School graduates receive more than $16 million in scholarships
June 22nd, 20181 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Many of Crestwood High School's graduating class achieved high grade point averages and received praise from their school's staff for their efforts in planning for their futures. "I consider myself so fortunate to work with such a talented, intelligent, driven group of students," said Yusra Hamadeh, counselor to...
Standing up and breaking fast: Taking Ramadan Iftar into the streets
June 20th, 20180 Most of the time, iftars are family gatherings, held in homes or mosques during the holy month of Ramadan as people sit down to break the daily fast. But for the second year in a row, an online Muslim organization, MPower Change, is taking iftar out of the home and into the streets. So far this year, it has staged protests on the...
Sears to close 4 Mich locations by end of summer, including Dearborn store
June 19th, 20180 DEARBORN — The Sears store inside Fairlane Town Center is among the four Michigan locations that will close by the end of summer. The Dearborn store was one of 72 nationwide that are slated for closure after a May 31 announcement made by Sears Holdings. Flint, Sterling Heights and Traverse City are the other Michigan locations...
Detroit’s Frontier International Academy students improve school’s success
June 18th, 20180 DETROIT — The number of Frontier International Academy (FIA) students applying to universities is increasing every year and the class of 2018 has brought the school to its peak in college and university acceptances. Frontier International Academy has won the grand prize in the Race to the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student...
Protesters gather in Detroit against separation of families
June 18th, 20180 Detroit —Protesters against separation of families gather at the Families Belong Together rally outside the ICE Enforcement center at 333 Mt. Elliott, on June 14 at 5 p.m. A partnership between Women’s March, Equality Michigan, African Bureau of Immigration and Social Affairs (ABISA) and Metro-Detroit Political Action Network...
Dearborn residents reminded of fireworks use related laws
June 16th, 20180 DEARBORN – Residents are reminded to follow state and local laws regarding the purchase and use of fireworks and to exercise extreme caution, as the Fourth of July approaches. In addition to low-impact fireworks such as sparklers, there are powerful or airborne fireworks, known as “consumer” fireworks, that are legal for sale...
Fordson High School graduate to attend Harvard this fall
June 16th, 20180 DEARBORN – Fatima Taj, a Fordson High School graduate with a 4.48 GPA and served as class valedictorian, is something of a renaissance woman. The Harvard-bound 18-year-old served as president of Fordson’s book and art club, was a member of the Key Club, the Link Crew, the Teen Grant Making Initiative, the varsity tennis team and...
Dearborn graduates receive $11.4 million in scholarships
June 16th, 20180 DEARBORN - Dearborn Public Schools graduated 1,471 students this June. About 446 graduates were offered a combined total of $11.4 million in scholarships. Most will be taking classes at Henry Ford College, Wayne State University and the University of Michigan-Dearborn. Four students from Dearborn were accepted into ivy league...
Design competition seeks to create a connected cultural campus in Midtown
June 16th, 20180 By Eman Jassem The Arab American News intern DETROIT — The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) and Midtown Cultural Connections launched an international design competition and invited the public for a series of presentations and interviews on June 13 and 14 in the DIA lecture hall. The three-stage competition launched on...
Assad Turfe named Wayne County executive’s chief of staff
June 16th, 20180 DETROIT - On Wednesday, June 13, Assad Turfe was promoted by Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans to become his chief of staff. “Assad epitomizes what a public servant should be: Selfless, hard-working and committed to getting things done with integrity,” Evans said. “He’s been instrumental to the success we’ve had over......
Ali Hammoud’s appointment as 19th District Court magistrate results in Arab American trifecta
June 15th, 20180 DEARBORN – Ali Hammoud, a 38-year-old local attorney, has recently been selected to serve as a magistrate in the 19th district court, creating a trifecta of Arab American magistrates for the first time in the court’s history. Each of the court’s three judges have the opportunity to recommend an applicant to the position. Judge...
Noor Fakih overcomes learning disability, gets accepted at Stanford
June 15th, 20180 DEARBORN — Noor Fakih, a recent Fordson High School graduate, worked through a learning disability diagnoses during her last two years of high school and finished with offers from many top schools. Fakih recently found out she’d been accepted to Stanford University, where she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in computer......
Governor Snyder declares June as Immigrant Heritage Month
June 11th, 20180 LANSING — Gov. Snyder has proclaimed June as Immigrant Heritage Month. Michigan celebrates its past, present and future by welcoming those from across the globe who contribute to the state's cultural diversity and economic growth. "Michigan is a national leader in welcoming New Americans and that is something to be proud of," Snyder...
Voters to decide marijuana legalization after legislature fails to act
June 9th, 20181 LANSING — The state legislature decided on Tuesday the issue of legalizing marijuana for recreational use will be up to voters to decide in the November election. Senate Republicans had wanted to take up and pass the measure so they could amend it and keep it off the Nov. 6 general election ballot. They instead deferred to the House...
Low-income workers protest Bill Schuette’s opposition to Medicaid
June 9th, 20180 DETROIT— On Thursday afternoon, a group of more than 100 low-income voters met outside Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s office in Detroit to protest his pledge to cut Michigan’s Medicaid expansion. A community member with the group said 700,000 Michigan residents who have Medicaid could be affected by the...
Local officials host iftars for area Muslims
June 9th, 20180 DEARBORN – Local officials in Wayne County hosted several iftars for area Muslims. Wayne County Executive Warren Evans hosted his annual iftar for county Muslim leaders at the Grapevine Restaurant in Canton. Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly held two iftar dinners at Habib’s Cuisine, one for heads of local Arab and Muslim......
American Muslim groups protest exclusion from Trump’s first White House iftar
June 8th, 20181 WASHINGTON, D.C. — After declining to mark Ramadan last year with a traditional iftar dinner, which breaks the daily fast during the Islamic holy month, the White House held one Wednesday night with a few dozen guests, many of them ambassadors from Muslim nations. Meanwhile, some Islamic groups that were not invited, led by the...
Mother of terminally ill son begs community for help, gets little response
June 8th, 20180 By Sarah Kominek The Arab American News ANN ARBOR — Azeza Kafham spends her days at home with her four children. She keeps up with her 2-year old son, Thayer, helps her 13-year-old, home-schooled daughter, Sophie, with homework and provides sole care for her immobile 15-year-old son, Hiatham, who just months before being......
Lebanese men’s hockey club hopes to develop a women’s team
June 8th, 20180 Sarah Kominek The Arab American News MONTREAL — Lebanon's men's national hockey team is in the beginning stages of starting a women's team. "It's official we're going to have a women's team," said Charles El-Mir, executive vice president of the Lebanese Hockey Association, who added that former Dearborn resident Sally...
Midwest Recycling and two Dearborn schools reap the benefits of giving back
June 8th, 20180 By Eman Jassem The Arab American News intern DEARBORN — On June 5, Lowrey School and Oakman Elementary School were each awarded the grand prize of $1,250 for being the winners of the Blue Hands United Clothing Collection Challenge sponsored by Midwest Recycling. Those attending people the Oakman Elementary School award......
