Arlington family begs ICE to release man so he can care for his disabled son
The family of an Arlington man arrested by immigration authorities is demanding his release so that the man can care for his disabled son.
The man, Maher Tarabishi, is the primary caretaker for his son Wael, who has Pompe disease, a rare condition that causes muscle weakness and deterioration. Wael, 30, cannot move or breathe on his own. Until his arrest Maher oversaw Wael’s ventilator, feeding tubes, and other care.
Maher’s family joined community activists on Tuesday to appeal directly to President Donald Trump and plead for Maher’s release so he can care for his son. They gathered outside Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, where Wael has twice been hospitalized since his father was detained.
Wael has been admitted to the hospital twice since his father was arrested, his family said. In November, Wael was diagnosed with sepsis and pneumonia and was hospitalized for five days at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, his family said. Wael was again hospitalized Dec. 24 after his feeding tube was displaced.
Wael said in a prepared statement that he cannot survive without his father.
“He is the one who knows my body when it is about to fail,” Wael said in a statement read by his cousin. “He is the one who keeps me alive when I’m at my weakest.”
Maher Tarabishi, 62, was arrested Oct. 28 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during what his family says was a routine check-in at the ICE Field Office in Dallas. He has been detained since then in the Bluebonnet Detention Facility in Anson.
ICE said in a statement that Tarabishi is a “criminal alien” and a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which the family has denied.
“ICE’s successful arrest of Tarabishi shows clear evidence of the game-changing impact the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts are having to restore common sense to our immigration system, strengthen national security and public safety in our country by arresting terrorists like this where prior administration’s recklessly gambled with the safety of all Americans by allowing foreign terrorists, transnational gang members, and other violent criminal aliens to remain in the U.S.,” an ICE spokesman said in an email.
His family previously told the Star-Telegram that Maher, a Jordanian national, came to the U.S. in 1994 on a tourist visa. Since it expired, he has claimed asylum. Shahd Arnaout, Maher’s daughter-in-law, said he has attended required immigration check-ins regularly and has always complied with immigration requirements.
“This is not a man who should be behind bars,” she said. “This is a man who should be beside his child, his sick child.”
Tarabishi’s arrest is part of a broader increase in immigration enforcement under Trump’s second term. As of Nov. 30, there were nearly 66,000 people in ICE custody.
This story was updated Dec. 31 with comment from ICE.
This story was originally published December 30, 2025 at 2:05 PM.
