An Alabama woman who left her home to join the Islamic State terror group now wants to return to the United States with her four-year-old son. Hoda Muthana and her 4-year-old child, the son of a man she met while with IS, have been living in a Syrian refugee camp for nearly the entire life of the child, and it’s unclear what steps might come next to argue for their admittance into the United States, said Christina Jump, who represents the woman’s family.
“We intend to stand by Hoda and her son and their rights to citizenship,” she said. “We do intend to keep working on her behalf.”
The Supreme Court, however, has declined to consider her lawsuit seeking to re-enter into the United States.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the appeal of a lawsuit filed by relatives on behalf of Muthana, who was born in New Jersey and fled her home in suburban Birmingham in 2014 to join Islamic State, apparently after becoming radicalized online.
She later decided she wanted to return to the United States, but the government determined she was not a U.S. citizen and revoked her passport while she was oversees, blocking her return. The government cited her father’s status as a diplomat from Yemen at the time of her birth in 1994.
Both relatives and lawyers have a hard time maintaining regular contact with Muthana because she isn’t allowed to have her own cellphone in the camp where she lives and internet service is spotty, said the attorney.
– Ella Breedlove
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