Iraqi refugee Mohammed Saadi Khudhair Al-Ani did not have an easy life prior to coming to the United States in 2019.
As a toddler, he was trapped in a house fire and suffered extensive burn injuries to his face, head, and upper body. His father, who served as a covert interpreter for U.S. Marines stationed in the region, was taken from him at an early age after he was kidnapped and tortured to death by al Qaeda terrorists.
Al-Ani’s luck took a turn for the better in 2008, however, when he came into contact with Army National Guardsman David Howell, who, after returning to the states in November, began laying the groundwork to bring Al-Ani back to the U.S. to receive medical treatment for his injuries. Howell told The Federalist he ultimately secured a visa for Al-Ani, returned to Iraq as a civilian in spring 2009, and brought Al-Ani back to America, where he remained for the next year undergoing numerous reconstructive plastic surgeries via the Michigan State University Department of Surgery.
Al-Ani returned to his family in Iraq, where he lived for the next nine years. He told The Federalist that after fleeing to Turkey due to the emergence of ISIS, he was able to legally come to the U.S. again in August 2019 thanks to efforts by Howell and Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich. Now 27 years old, Al-Ani — who provided The Federalist with a copy of his green card — legally resides in Lansing, Michigan
