Philadelphia

Uneasy Moments as Muslim-American Waits for Husband's Return From Middle East at Philadelphia International Airport

Woman sees executive order blocking travelers from some majority Muslim countries as a 'personal attack'

A Muslim-American woman felt uneasy while waiting at Philadelphia International Airport for her husband to arrive on a flight back from the Middle East Monday morning.

Samira Todd paced back and forth under a large American flag in the international arrivals area as she waited with her daughter for her husband, returning from a month-long visit to the Middle East.

"It's very scary not knowing what's going to happen when he gets here," Todd said.

Todd's husband arrived on a Qatar Airlines flight from Doha to Philadelphia. It's the same route that two Syrian families took before being detained in Philadelphia over the weekend and sent back to Qatar in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Qatar isnโ€™t included in the list of countries and the executive order doesnโ€™t target anyone with an American passport, like Todd's husband, who wound up quickly making it through customs to get a hug from his wife.

Both Todd and her husband are born in American and practice Islam, dressing in traditional Muslim clothing. The uncertainty of Trump's travel ban on people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has caused unease for Todd. [[412059543, C]]

"It's a personal attack โ€” we're not foreign," said Todd, who saw the order as an assault on those following Islam. "I was born here, lived here all my life."

"We don't know exactly what immigration or Homeland Security has planned for anybodyโ€ฆ it's not what's going on with the immigrants, it seems to be a Muslim situation," Todd said.

Todd's husband, tired from his flight, declined NBC10's request for comment.

Contact Us