Family fears deportation of dad in daughter's fire pit death (Detroit, Michigan)

Dad MAJD MOHAMMAD AL-SHARA is currently in jail for the fire pit death of his 6-year-old daughter. His family wants his to stay in jail--because otherwise he risks deportation an an undocumented alien. Do you think Jordan wants this stellar daddy back in their country?

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Avis=C4&Dato=20101020&Kategori=NEWS04&Lopenr=101020033&Ref=AR&template=fullarticle

Posted: 11:24 a.m. Oct. 20, 2010 Updated: 4:23 p.m. today
Family fears deportation of man in his daughter's fire pit death
By TAMMY STABLES BATTAGLIA
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The family of the New Haven Elementary second-grader killed in a fire pit accident now does not want her father released from jail, instead believing he’ll be safe from threats of deportation if he stays jailed on child abuse charges.

A U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said this afternoon that Majd Mohammad Al-Shara of Lennox Township will immediately face deportation proceedings if he’s released on bond.

“If he pays the bond, he’ll be put into our custody and entered into removal proceedings,” if he doesn’t have legal status, I.C.E. spokesman Khaalid Walls said this afternoon. “He’ll have the option to go before an immigration judge and make his case.”

Walls said some people are released if they wear a tether during pending deportation proceedings. But he would not comment specifically about that possibility for Al-Shara.

Al-Shara, charged with felony child abuse after 6-year-old Aliaa was fatally burned Sept. 19, has been in the Macomb County Jail on $10,000 cash bond. Supporters in the community and his family have pleaded for his release, claiming losing his daughter is already devastating to the doting father.

But after hearing customs officials’ position, Al-Shara’s lawyer, Richard Graving, said today that he asked Judge William Hackel III to allow a 10% bond posting rather than a personal bond to give the family options. Hackel approved the request, also requiring Al-Shara to wear a tether and not leave Macomb County while the child abuse case plays out.

“We’re likely to just leave him where he’s at at least until the next hearing,” Graving said. Al-Shara’s next court appearance in 42-2 District Court in New Baltimore is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 8.

The Jordanian citizen has been in the country illegally for nearly 10 years, said his wife, Cheryl Edgil, who is worried that the entire situation could end up with Al-Shara's deportation.

"I am worried — I'm very worried," she said. "He's never been in any trouble. He's a good man. He loved his daughter. He worked hard. I really hope this can be worked out, that they can let these charges drop."

Police say Al-Shara and Aliaa were sitting at a fire pit Sept. 19 at their home in the Quail Run subdivision when he tried to stoke the flames with gasoline. The resulting explosion caught Aliaa's clothing on fire; she died Sept. 22. Aliaa's mother and 14-year-old half-brother were on their way to a Christian concert in Clarkston when the accident occurred.

Al-Shara has been in the Macomb County Jail since he was charged with second-degree child abuse. And while allusions were made by a Macomb County assistant prosecutor at a previous hearing that charges could become more severe in light of Aliaa's death, Assistant Prosecutor Therese Tobin said today that no decision has been made.

"The bottom line is we can't be swayed by emotion," she said after the hearing. "We have to deal with the facts in front of us."

Test results from the Michigan State Police were still pending, and investigators from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office are still waiting for information from the Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office, Tobin said.

Graving said he hopes the test results will help prove Al-Shara shouldn't be charged with a crime for his daughter's death.

"When they complete their investigation, if they're ever able to explain that accident in detail, I'm optimistic the Sheriff's Office and prosecutors will be just as convinced as I am it was just a terrible accident," Graving said. He also said he expects to talk to the family's immigration lawyer sometime today.

Al-Shara attended today's hearing with his arms shackled over white bandages wrapping his hands and arms up to his elbows. He also was severely burned in the accident, during which neighbor Mark Elzerman came running with a Red Wings blanket to try to extinguish the flames that consumed Aliaa.

Elzerman, 27, attended today's hearing to show support for Al-Shara, a regular participant in the neighborhood's Sunday afternoon game of horseshoes. The community also held a spaghetti dinner fund-raiser at New Haven Elementary a few weeks ago that raised $7,000 for the family's medical costs and funeral expenses.

"This is just carrying it on, making it worse," Elzerman said as he sat in the back of the courtroom. "He's got a family to take care of. I'm sure he's suffering enough. And not only is it making it worse for him, it's making it worse for his wife and family. It's making it bad for everybody."