April 19, 2013
Excerpted from THE BLAZE
The well-known Saudi Arabian news site Okaz.com released a report claiming first lady Michelle Obama visited two young Saudi Arabian nationals — including one once considered a person of interest and who sources tell TheBlaze was being considered for deportation — in the hospital Thursday following the Boston attacks and reassured them of their health status.
Steven Miller, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, translated the Arabic-language article into English for The Blaze.
“Yesterday, Michelle Obama, the wife of the American President, visited the Saudis in the hospital who were injured in the Boston bombing, Abdul Rahman Ali Isa al-Salmi al-Harbi and Noura Khaled Saleh al-Ajaji, to reassure them of their health,” begins the article before explaining the students’ injuries.
“Noura al-Ajaji underwent a third surgery yesterday to repair and beautify the thigh area, just above the knee, treat skin damage caused by shrapnel, and remove fragments. This was the third round of the treatment plan for al-Ajaji; the first phase focused on sterilizing the wounds, and the second focused on healing the gash caused by glass shrapnel. Medical reports issued by the hospital yesterday confirmed the complete integrity of her knee and thigh.”
“Al-Ajaji, who is a master’s student in cosmetic dentistry, was injured by flying glass fragments from the nearby Colby glasses store, which she was nearby during the Boston Marathon bombings, resulting in an 11 centimeter gash in the thigh area.”
A senior law enforcement official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told TheBlaze Thursday that reports claiming the department was deporting Alharbi under section 212 3B (“security and related grounds”) and had opened an “event” (or file) on the Saudi Arabian national following the Boston attacks is “categorically false.”
Documents presented to Congress, however, were subsequently reported by TheBlaze to have confirmed that plans were made to revoke the visa of Alharbi.
The congressional source told TheBlaze it was unclear as to why representatives from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be unaware of the plans for visa revocation.
The Saudi news report is plausible given that the first lady along with President Obama visited victims of the Boston bombings at several different area hospitals Thursday afternoon.
The visits were closed to the media and scheduled with little advance notice due to security reasons.
