Tyler Whetstone

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Turkish Airlines did not provide the Transportation Security Administration with the necessary information so that a 17-year-old Knoxville resident could board a flight back to the United States, a TSA spokesperson said Monday.

"International carriers are tasked with providing security information to the federal government before a passenger can fly into the United States," spokesperson Sari Koshetz said in an emailed statement. "That did not happen in this case."

Representatives from Turkish Airlines did not return emails requesting comment.

Zubaidah Alizoti — a Webb School of Knoxville student and U.S. citizen — was traveling Sunday with family and friends in the Middle East during spring break.

On Facebook, Alizoti's mother, Sabrina Sadaf Siddiqi, said the family was taking a surprise trip with family and friends to make an Umrah, or a religious journey, to Mecca, a Muslim holy city, in Saudi Arabia during Webb’s spring break. The family traveled with a tour group that left from Knoxville on March 10.

Her mother, brother and father, all U.S. citizens, were allowed to board the plane but stayed with her once she was denied, according to a source with knowledge of the incident but who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the circumstances. A spokesperson from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency did not prevent Alizoti from boarding the plane.

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and staffers from Rep. John J. Duncan Jr.’s office are attempting to contact a Knoxville family in Istanbul, Turkey, after they claimed their daughter was barred from boarding a flight to Atlanta on Sunday afternoon.

Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander were also contacted by Rogero on Monday, according to spokesman Jesse Mayshark. In a statement Rogero said she hopes the family is able to travel home soon.

"I saw the Facebook posts about the Siddiqi family's situation, and I was concerned," she said. "I contacted the offices of Congressman Duncan and Senators Alexander and Corker, and they all responded promptly and promised to reach out to the Siddiqis. I have heard from Sabrina Siddiqi that she has heard from them, and she appreciates the support."

On Facebook, Siddiqi asked for prayers as her family will attempt to fly to the U.S. again Wednesday. Her original post Sunday has been shared over 600 times.

“But today, as we tried to board our flight back to America my daughter, my 17-year-old, my kind, my courteous, my loved by many, my Tennessee born daughter was denied entry back to her country, my country, our country,” she wrote.

“In this new #America a citizen of our country can be unlawfully denied entry for no apparent reason other than border patrol would not clear her United States passport for entry. In this new #America my family, my patriotic, my community serving family can be denied entry back to our own homeland. In this new #America my family can be treated unjustly by my own country. Is this the new Great America?”

In a Facebook message to a reporter Sunday night, Siddiqi said the family would attempt to re-enter the U.S. on Wednesday and had multiple lawyers and media members reach out to try and help the family.

In a Monday morning Facebook post Siddiqi wrote that the family was having issues getting in contact with U.S. diplomats in Istanbul.

Zaynab Ansari is an instructor at the Tayseer Seminary in Knoxville, which headed the trip, and she traveled with the group to Mecca. The group of approximately 50 people left for Istanbul on March 10 and returned Sunday night, Ansari said.

She said Alizoti and her family were in line with the group as they were checking through customs. Ansari said she didn't realize the family did not make the trip back until she landed in Atlanta.

Webb School President Michael McBrien said in an email, "We have no information regarding their status in Turkey other than what has been reported in the Knoxville News Sentinel. We are keeping Zubaidah and her family in our thoughts and prayers, and we hope for their speedy and safe return. And we’re looking forward to welcoming Zubaidah back to campus."

Press secretaries for both Gov. Bill Haslam and Alexander were contacted via email, but neither returned comment beyond acknowledging they received a reporter’s email.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order March 6 that attempted to bar citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days from entering the country. It includes several changes from the original ban struck down in court. Saudi Arabia and Turkey are not on the ban list.

However, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide halt to the order last week. The Department of Justice also strongly rebuked the order.

In a speech in Nashville on Wednesday, Trump called the rulings an "unprecedented judicial overreach." He hinted that the ruling was motivated by “political reasons,” and said he would appeal the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.