PROVIDENCE – A Syrian doctor who was studying at Brown University will not return to finish his studies because of the Trump administration’s travel ban, according to the Boston Globe.
Dr. Khaled Almilaji has moved to Toronto, citing too much uncertainty in light of the travel ban. He will now pursue his master’s degree at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Almilaji coordinated a campaign that vaccinated 1.4 million Syrian children and has risked his life to provide medical care during the Syrian civil war, according to the story.
Almilaji had been stuck in Turkey after the first implementation of the travel ban, separated from his pregnant wife. His work takes him to Turkey to oversee projects in Syria, one of the countries named in the reinstituted travel ban, and he has been advised by lawyers that re-entering the United States might prove difficult in the future.
According to the Globe, Almilaji still maintains a relationship with his mentors at Brown, coordinating on work to open an underground hospital in Syria for women and children.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN editor.
