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UPDATE, 9:15 pm: A family attorney tells The Oregonian that Fatemah will undergo surgery at Oregon Health & Science University, as originally planned. New York Gov. (Andrew Cuomo, who helped arrange a waiver, had also offered a hospital in his state.)
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has released a statement.
"I am pleased this case appears headed toward a successful resolution with an innocent 4-month-old girl getting the life-saving treatment she needs in this country," Wyden says. "This case has spotlighted the moral bankruptcy of the president's action to impose a thinly disguised religious test on people coming to our country.
"Banning a 4-month-old child from a pediatric heart surgeon does nothing to safeguard our nation," Wyden continues. "Such cruelty runs counter to core American values. And it slams shut America's centuries-old legacy as a place of shelter for people of all ages."
Original post, 7:52 pm: An Iranian infant previously unable to reach Portland for heart surgery due to President Donald Trump's travel ban is now being allowed to enter the United States.
As reported by the New York Daily News, Fatemah Taghizadeh will receive a waiver to enter the United States in order to receive a vital heart surgery. New York governor Andrew Cuomo worked with the International Refugee Assistance Project to petition for a waiver, and doctors at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York City have agreed to do the surgery for free.
Fatemah was originally scheduled to undergo the surgery at Oregon Health & Science University on Feb. 5.
As reported by Willamette Week's news parter KATU-TV, Fatemah has a heart condition, and needs surgery immediately. The baby's uncle Samad Taghizadeh lives in Portland with her grandparents, who are American citizens.
On Jan. 27, Fatemah and her mother traveled to Dubai, but were not able to make their connecting flight to the United States before Trump issued his executive order.
This evening, the Six Democratic members of the Oregon congressional delegation submitted a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, asking him for a waiver on the travel ban for Fatemah and her parents.
The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader.
It’s not clear whether that letter was sent before or after Cuomo obtained a waiver—or if the Reshad family would have been cleared to travel anyway, after a federal judge in Seattle issued a nationwide injunction against the travel ban.