Los Banos community rallies around family stranded after travel ban

LOS BANOS, Calif. (KFSN) -- UPDATE: The family's attorney said Ali and his daughter will both fly to California on Sunday.

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Los Banos residents are showing support for a man and his daughter who are stuck in east Africa after President Donald Trump signed a temporary travel ban.

A California judge signed a temporary restraining order this week and another federal judge in Seattle also blocked the order Friday.

Ahmed Ali's attorney says there's still no word on when Ali's daughter Eman will be able to fly into the country but that's not stopping people in the area from coming by the store where Ali works at to show their support and love for the employee.

The Buy-N-Save market sees hundreds of shoppers a day who come to pick up what they need. Recently, many of those people are donating rather than buying after getting word that a well-known employee was stuck in east Africa while trying to pick up his daughter.

Ali has been stuck in Djibouti for more than a week now. He went to pick up his 12-year-old daughter, who grew up in Yemen with her grandparents, and recently got her immigrant visa.

However, she couldn't board the plane after Trump signed the executive order banning travel to people from a handful of Middle Eastern countries.

"It's unbelievable," Paula Espinoza of Los Banos said. "Unbelievable, this is our community."

For family friend Victoria Valdez, even talking about what's going on with Ali brings her to tears.

"I can't talk about this no more," she said.

Valdez says the family is upset and all she can do is give Ali's wife and family her support.

"Not seeing him at the cash register, but only on social media, it hurts," she said.

Store owner Camerino Munoz says customers have come asking to donate. A GoFundMe page set up by Ali's attorney has raised more than $20,000 in just a few days.

"Even the community is very excited. We want to see him back," he said. "He and his daughter and everything can be back to normal."

For many in Los Banos, normal means a familiar face back at the store. A march is also planned for 4 p.m. Monday. Residents plan to march from the shop down to the courthouse.