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Youngstown businessman Al Adi gets a stay

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown businessman arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Tuesday and who expected to be deported is receiving an estimated six-month stay while the Department of Homeland Security reviews details of his case and reports back to the House of Representatives.

A vote of a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee late Thursday evening requires the Department of Homeland Security to review Amer Othman Adi’s deportation case and report its findings back to the subcommittee.

“This should lead to him not being deported and released from jail,” U.S. Rep. Timothy J. Ryan, D-Howland, said, during a news conference after the vote. “We are hoping to get him released from jail.”

Ryan said his goal has always been to ensure that Adi, who goes by the nickname “Al,” would have an opportunity to make his case to why he should stay in the country.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” Ryan said. “This is a nation of laws and due process. People should have their day in court.”

Ryan said he has been privately talking to members of the House Judiciary Committee every day since Adi was arrested Tuesday in Brookland Heights by ICE as he was going to what was thought to be a routine immigration hearing.

Adi was arrested as he was walking to his hearing with Ryan and his lawyer, David Leopold.

“It’s been a heartbreaking couple of days,” Ryan said. “The whole thing has bothered me for weeks. If he could be arrested as he walked into a hearing with a congressman and a high-powered lawyer, what could happen to the person that does not have any support?”

Adi has been held in the Geauga County Jail since his arrest. He has been on a hunger strike to protest his treatment.

Adi, 57, was told he would be held until his deportation. Adi came to the United States in 1979, married, and received a green card to stay in the country. However, he divorced his first wife and she reported the marriage was a sham, although she has since recanted that statement.

Adi has been married to his second wife, Fidaa Musleh, also an American citizen, for more than 30 years. He has opened businesses in Youngstown, including the Downtown Circle, and raised his family. Adi had garnered support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Ryan said he focused his effort to convince his congressional colleagues to look at Adi’s case and did not look at other cases that may be happening across the country.

“We can’t send this guy out of the country without having a thorough review,” Ryan said. “Ultimately, the final decision on whether he is allowed to stay or leave the country will be made by the Department of Homeland Security.”

rsmith@tribtoday.com

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