Brooklyn doctor stranded in Sudan because of travel ban is now back home

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Doctor Kamal Fadlalla arrived at JFK Airport on Sunday morning - back from a vacation that ended up being more stress than relaxation.

Doctor Fadlalla was stranded in Sudan after seeing family because of President Trump's travel ban. The second-year internal medicine resident at Interfaith Medical Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant says all he could think about was his patients he left behind in Brooklyn.

"Yeah, we are doctors, you know, just our job to help people, respond to the people, advocate for the people, advocate for the patients - this is our job," he said.

While he is now happy to be back and able to work, he is still worried about his colleagues stuck in limbo because of the travel ban.

"I'm really concerned about them. That is my concern, they are junior, they work very hard to get in, they spend a lot of money, and this is the kind of match, you know, they did the interview, some of them they're in Sudan right now, they're waiting for a match - it's very difficult," adds Dr. Fadlalla.

Officials say they hope the doctor's struggle with the ban sheds a light on the bigger picture. There are policy questions about the president's ban on immigration, and there is the human side to all of this.

"This is just good to see somebody that we believe a son of the community to come back home. He's working in a safety net hospital, which are characteristically hospitals that, you know, a lot of doctors don't want to work in. They are underserved communities...not the best conditions," says Councilman Robert Cornegy.

While this doctor is finally back in Brooklyn, he says this is not the end of his worries. He still doesn't know when he can go back overseas to visit his family.