Arab American groups are pressing the federal government to take stronger actions to rescue American citizens, including many from southeast Michigan, who are stuck in Lebanon as Israel’s military offensive escalates.
The situation is especially urgent in Wayne County, which has the largest population of Arab Americans and Lebanese Americans in the U.S.
On Thursday, the Dearborn-based Arab-American Civil Rights League filed a federal lawsuit against top officials from the defense and state departments, alleging the government has failed to adequately evacuate U.S. citizens and green card holders stuck in Lebanon.
The class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of four U.S. citizens and one green card-holding permanent resident currently stranded in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut. They are “under imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury,” the lawsuit states.
One of the plaintiffs withdrew from the suit after the family successfully secured airline tickets, Mariam E. Charara, executive director of the Arab American Civil Rights League, said Friday.
At least 6,000 Americans stranded in Lebanon have contacted the U.S. embassy for information and help, according to the Department of State. It’s unclear how many of them are from Michigan, but U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib told Metro Times on Friday that at least 148 live in her district, which covers sections of Detroit, Dearborn, western Wayne County, and portions of Oakland County.
Israeli bombs have already claimed the lives of three American citizens from Dearborn, with many others still in danger as the violence intensifies, according to Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).
“American citizens in Lebanon are facing dire circumstances, and the need for an immediate evacuation plan cannot be overstated,” said Abed Ayoub. “The lives of American citizens are in danger, and our government must act swiftly and decisively, as it has done in the past.”
State Representative Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn, joined Ayoub and Chris Habiby, government affairs director of ADC, for a meeting Thursday with senior government officials at the White House to urge officials to show more urgency.
“Every moment that passes by without evacuation flights further endangers the lives of Americans,” Farhat said. “The United States has an obligation to protect its citizens and must do everything possible to bring them home. Families in my district are already grieving the loss of loved ones killed by Israeli bombs. This administration must act now.”
Nine days after Israel began its offensive in Lebanon, President Joe Biden’s administration announced on Wednesday that it had contracted its first flight to evacuate U.S. citizens from Beirut to Istanbul.
But activists say the Biden administration isn’t acting with enough urgency.
“The Biden administration must take immediate steps to protect American citizens and assist the innocent civilians fleeing violence in Lebanon,” Ayoub said. “Failure to act now risks both lives and the integrity of the U.S. response to this crisis.”
On Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on federal officials to “do more” to rescue U.S. citizens trapped in Lebanon.
“We are already hearing reports of confirmed deaths and fear there will be more,” Whitmer wrote in a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “We cannot stand by while our constituents and their families are suffering.”
In an emotional video posted recently on Instagram, Tlaib spoke about the families, including a U.S. military veteran, who are stuck in Lebanon.
“For my team and I to break down and yell and scream for our own government to save them is a disgrace,” Tlaib said. “We need to do better. We knew this was coming, and we had no plan to get Americans out.”
