KANSAS CITY (AP) – A Kansas congresswoman has introduced legislation that would help a father who is fighting efforts by the U.S. to deport him to Bangladesh.

The bill that Republican Rep. Lynn Jenkins introduced Tuesday would provide for the “relief” of 55-year-old Syed Ahmed Jamal. U.S. immigration officials put Jamal on a plane bound for his native county Monday before an immigration panel granted a temporary stay in the case. His attorney, Rekha Sharma-Crawford, said he was taken off the flight when it stopped to refuel in Honolulu.

Sharma-Crawford says government attorneys have indicated they’re coordinating efforts to bring Jamal to the Kansas City area.

Jamal has lived in the Kansas for 30 years and has worked as an adjunct professor and researcher. Jenkins says her “heart aches” for his wife and children.