Imprisoned Christian Family Ignored By Obama Administration

Meriam Ibrahim is still languishing in a Sudanese prison, along with her two children, Martin, a 20-month-old, and Maya, a newborn baby girl. Meriam’s crime is marrying a Wani Ibrahim, a Christian, and having children with him. Meriam faces 100 lashes for “adultery,” and death for converting to Christianity. Her children will then be given to a Muslim family.

In an apparent capitulation to Sharia Law, the Obama Administration refuses to acknowledge the Ibrahim children are U.S. citizens. According to US law the child of any U.S. citizen IS a U.S. citizen. The State Department has acknowledged Wani, the father, is a U.S. citizen and that Meriam and Wani are married. Yet, the Obama Administration refuses to acknowledge the citizenship of Wani’s children.

The State Department is now making an unlawful demand for proof of paternity. According to Wani, “I will have to take a DNA sample in Khartoum, then send it to the USA for testing.” Under U.S. law the presumption is children born during marriage are the children of the mother and father. (See USCIS, Volume 12: CITIZENSHIP & NATURALIZATION, Part H: CHILDREN OF U.S. CITIZENS, Chapter 3) The only time proof of paternity is required is if a child is born out of wedlock.

The only way the State Department could lawfully require further proof is if it accepted the Sudanese Government’s interpretation of Sharia Law which does not recognize the marriage. The sentence of 100 lashes for “adultery” is because Meriam is considered to be a Muslim and therefore can’t marry a Christian. But Meriam claims to be a Christian, thus the death sentence for apostasy.

The State Department seems to have accepted this twisted foreign legal theory otherwise the children would automatically be considered US citizens. Wani said, “I have provided wedding documents and the baby’s birth certificate, and doors were closed on [my] face… I have tried to apply for papers to travel to the USA with my wife and child, but the American Embassy in Sudan did not help me.”

TAKE ACTION:

Contact the State Department and urge them to demand the immediate release of Meriam Ibrahim and her children from prison in Sudan and allow the family to be reunited in the US. Click here to contact the US State Department online.