Dallas Muslim Community Rallies Behind Leader Held in ICE Detention
A large number of people in North Texas support Marwan Marouf, who has been detained by ICE for thirty days, despite being a legal resident since entering the country as a student in 1990. The 54-year-old community organizer faces detention, which has triggered widespread support from religious leaders, civil rights organizations, and interfaith advocates who view his arrest as an attack on community leadership.
The immigration authorities arrested Marouf on September 22, after he completed his school drop-off duties, as his green card application had been denied on that day, following 15 years of employer sponsorship. The Muslim Legal Fund of America, which has defended Marouf for over six years, claims that the denial relied on outdated opinions from 2011 to reject his permanent residency application, despite new evidence supporting his eligibility.
Noor Wadi at MLFA press conference in response to government overreach in Marwan Marouf’s case at MAS Dallas
“The Heart of Our Community”
Dallas Muslim citizens utilized social media platforms for over ten years to establish a defense network, which expanded throughout North Texas.
Omar Suleiman stated that ICE agents took away the core of our community, which caused an instant strong reaction from residents. Through various news outlets, Omar Suleiman, a well-known figure, stated that he knew Marwan. During the last decade, Marwan has treated everyone he meets with extraordinary kindness.
The Muslim American Society member Noor Wadi told KERA News that the community remains stunned by Marouf’s detention. The community has known Marwan for decades because he has dedicated his life to serving others. The community as a whole has experienced his kindness firsthand because he has reached every person in the area.
Three Decades of Service
The Muslim community of North Texas receives support from Marouf through his extensive work in the area. The Richardson City Council honored Marwan Marouf with an official proclamation in February 2024 for his efforts in distributing 100,000 hot meals to hospital staff, police officers, school employees, and residents of homeless shelters throughout the region during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proclamation from the Richardson City Council acknowledged how Marwan Marouf, as Public Relations Director of the Muslim American Society Islamic Center in Richardson, led the community to success through his inspirational leadership, in collaboration with 20 local relief organizations and Islamic institutions.
Marouf dedicated thirty years of his life to serving the Dallas community through his work as a Red Cross disaster relief first responder, his leadership of North Dallas’s most significant Boy Scout troop, and his youth drug awareness initiatives. Mohammed explained to media outlets that his father dedicated thirty years of his life to serving the entire Dallas community, starting from the Muslim community of Dallas and extending to all residents of Dallas.
Legal Fight Intensifies
The community faces difficulties in obtaining Marouf’s freedom because federal prosecutors added terrorism-related charges to his case through his 1994 and 2001 donations to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development before the Richardson-based charity shut down and its leaders received Hamas support convictions.
The legal team of Marouf will proceed with his federal court case after an immigration judge denied bond eligibility, according to civil rights attorney Lee Merritt. The court delivered unfavorable news to us today, so we will unite our forces to pursue federal court action.