Visas abruptly canceled for 2 Palestinian humanitarian activists detained at SFO: SF supervisor

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Two Palestinian men who had their visas abruptly denied before a humanitarian mission to the Bay Area have been placed on return flights out of San Francisco International Airport, according to a city official.

More than a dozen community members from faith groups and other organizations rallied in support of the two West Bank humanitarian activists after they said U.S. Customs and Border Patrol detained the two.

"They were here on a humanitarian mission, alongside a lot of the individuals here who had invited them and sponsored them at Jewish synagogues and churches on a humanitarian mission to raise money and awareness for children suffering in the Middle East," San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood said.

Mahmood said he found out about the situation from the public defender's office.

"They informed me that they have not heard of a case like this and an incident in over 10 years at SFO," he said.

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Mahmood and the faith groups say that Eid Hthaleen and Ouda Alhadlin are an educator and artist.

"They are men of peace, they are community leaders," said Ben Linder of J Street Silicon Valley. "Their tools and weapons are a camera and the written word."

The two men had a longstanding relationship with Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont, where they were set to visit this week.

"They wanted to come here to thank us for our help and to do further fundraising for these humanitarian causes, and we were very happy to welcome them here," said Julie Litwin with Kehilla Community Synagogue.

Members of the synagogue waited at the airport for eight hours for the two to arrive. They said they eventually got in touch with Customs and Border Patrol, who told them that the visas were cancelled.

"The most the Border Patrol has told us after we initiated contact was that they had valid visas when they got here, and they were revoked on entry," Mahmood said.

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By midday Thursday, when the supporters began rallying, it had been 18 hours since the two had been staying at SFO. In that time, their hosts said they had no direct contact with them.

Now supporters from all faiths and backgrounds say they're uniting to send a message and calling on the support of more government representatives.

"Urging CBP to immediately reconsider and change their decision here," said Zahra Billoo with CAIR San Francisco Bay Area. "Our two visitors are still wanted, needed and welcomed."

Supervisor Mahmood said he's been in touch with Congress Members Nancy Pelosi and Lateefah Simon, whose district is where the synagogue is located.

ABC7 reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to get more information, and they confirmed that they got the request but we are still waiting to hear back.