Abood al Jumaili, an Irish professional hurler and diversity and inclusion ambassador for the Gaelic Athletic Association, was prohibited from boarding a flight from Dublin to Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday. American border officials allegedly told him it was “because he was born in Iraq.”
Despite his Irish citizenship and Irish passport, he received an email ahead of his flight alerting him his Esta (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) visa waiver had been rejected, supposedly because of his birthplace – where he has not been since leaving Baghdad as a nine-year-old in 2008. When he went to Dublin airport to try to explain the situation, he was once again blocked by Customs and Border Patrol officials.
“I was in the airport looking at all these passengers getting through with their Irish passport. I’m there as an Irish citizen, yet I…
