A year ago, Sara K.’s father passed away in Iran.
In Iranian culture, it is customary for relatives and friends to celebrate the first anniversary of a loved one’s death. So Sara's 65-year-old mother, Farideh, left their home in Sunnyvale over the recent holidays and traveled back to Iran for the memorial.
Farideh, a legal permanent resident in the U.S. since 2015, was headed home to the Bay Area on Saturday. Her plane landed at San Francisco International Airport at 1:30 p.m. But unlike the other passengers, she wasn't able to leave and meet her waiting family — her daughter and her son-in-law.
Sara recalls the phone call she received from Farideh around 3 p.m. Her mother said: “There is an officer speaking Farsi and they are questioning me."