A day after Trump signed an Executive Order banning the people from 7 predominately Muslim countries, including Iran, to enter the US, New York District Judge Ann Donnelly issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people subject to Trump’s travel ban, saying travelers who had been detained had a strong argument that their legal rights had been violated thus putting a temporary halt on his misguided order. Also, a Federal Judge in Virginia issued an order to the US Customs “to permit lawyers access to all legal permanent residents being detained at Dulles International Airport.”
All over the news there were stories about how people with valid visas and green cards were targeted, detained, deported or prevented from boarding planes destined for the US. Yesterday, while Trump declared that his bans were “working out very nicely’”, it was the American legal system that was shining bright and “working out vey nicely!”
The people who were illegally targeted based on their religion and the country of origin were mainly Syrian refugees and Iranians. The Syrian refugee families have been vetted for over 2 years and were cleared to come to the US, but they were detained and deported. The Iranians were mostly the family members of US citizens that had travelled to Iran.
The reaction in the high-tech community where 100 Facebook and 75 Microsoft employees were affected was swift. The executives at Facebook, Microsoft, Google and other major technology companies condemned the Order. Here is a sample of the Iranians that have been affected by Trump’s order.
Parisa Fasihianifard, 24, arrived after a long trip from Tehran, Iran, only to be detained and told she had to go home.
"She was crying and she told me she was banned to come inside and go through the gates," said her husband Mohamad Zandian, 26, an Iranian doctoral student at Ohio State University. He was hoping to get her out of the country on a late night flight to avoid her being jailed until Monday.
Mozhgan Mostafavi, a 46-year-old Novato resident, had been at San Francisco International Airport, anxiously waiting for her 80-year-old Iranian father, who had landed Saturday afternoon but was held for almost six hours. By 8 p.m., he was released.
“He is very quiet — kind of shaken, but he is fine,” she said.
At San Francisco International Airport, one woman had waited six years to see her son, and the airport was supposed to be the scene of their reunion Saturday. They were going to rent a boat, tour the city, share a meal and plan his wedding in California. She screamed. She cried. She stood in the airport, confused about what to do. They wouldn’t let her see her son.
“We told him once you are here, everything is nice — when you get here you will be free. Everything is totally different. He came here ... but he got stuck in a room,” she said. She requested that her name not be disclosed because her son is in danger of religious persecution in Iran. The family is not Muslim.
“This is going to kill me,” she said. “My heart is broken. I thought here was freedom.”
Meanwhile, families from across California were fearing the worst.
Two months ago, Aidin was celebrating the birth of his son. On Saturday, he was in his Walnut Creek home, terrified that his wife, who has a green card but is currently in Iran, will not be able to return to her family. “I’m broken,” he said, crying.
Aidin, 32, is a software engineer who moved to the United States 10 years ago and is now a U.S. citizen. He requested that his last name not be disclosed. He spent Friday night researching the order and writing letters to politicians when his wife called: “I want to be there. I can’t be like this,” she told him as she wept. His wife had gone for a short trip to Iran for surgery and to visit family. She had planned to come back Feb. 5.
In Walnut Creek on Saturday morning, Aidin said he felt helpless as he attempted to buy his wife a ticket that would get her on a plane as soon as possible. Would he have to travel abroad for the next three months to see his wife in another country? Would he quit his job and go to Iran? The options are complicated by an infant son in Walnut Creek who does not yet have a passport.
Aidin chose to do something else — he wrote a letter to Trump.
“I have always been proud of my heritage but even more proud to be a U.S. citizen. I admire American values and believe in the system that we have in here,” he wrote. “Ever since I migrated to U.S., I have been working non-stop as a software engineer, got my Masters’ degree from USC while working full time, and every year have been paying substantial amount of tax.
“I was wondering if you could help me.”
Well, it’s been only one week since Trump has moved into the White House and the various communities across the US are beginning to see what a disaster his presidency will become. And they are ready to fight back.
Mr. Trump, you have finally met the real America. Now go back to your Trump Tower!
I can easily, most easily accept the painful cases of Mozhgan, Parisa, Ali, Gholi, Samantha etc. as collateral damages of Trump's mission for curtailing IRI's global outreach, which may, yes only may, result in a total overhaul of the regime... For that hope, I'd give the guy a chance...way beyond a short week... And hey, you might have the chance to call me a stupid naive jerk at the end...Let's see... something like that...
Faramarz jan: US of A has just turned to the right, way past the corner of madness and stupidity.
Russians and many Iranians were happy of Trump's victory, as the Comrades and the Akhoonds thought that he was going to be friendly to them.
Trump is crazy and he will ruin the USA.
Well Dear Shazde,
Don't give up hope on the American people. Trump has awakened the sleeping giant as we saw in the million women march and the people who showed up at the airports yesterday.
We shall overcome!
This one is just for I missed the 10-minute window for editing... Sorry...
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) get its funding from its 750,000 members. It also has 2,000 lawyers/volunteers who work on pro-bono basis.
I shoulda known better... Of course, a union...
Wow....Way to tell a story there partner...Hey...You need more juice there on it...It is too dry...know what i am sayin?
2017's america is like 2009's Iran. IRI united the world in 2009 and sent people from all walks of life to protest against them. Now Trump has united the whole world and triggered protests everywhere on the global scale. The women's march was awesome, it was global. I heard more marches are coming. Some people are organizing scientists' march.
Trump is so detached, so rude to everyone. He pretty much offended many people, if not everybody, under the sun: the women, Latinos, Chinese, Mexicans, immigrants, Moslems, and the press.
His own wife can't even stand him, does not want to live with him in the WH.
This ban won't help Donald Duck with the southern border arrivals becasue most Mexicans use alternative means to arive U.S. :)
Yolanda, we shall see. Thanks to Green and Mousavi and Kahroubi 2009 was a failure and failure of 2009 uprising in Iran resulted in a more muscular, aggressive and beligerent slimic repubic. The same here can usher in full blown fascism. Trump was not elected by majority will and has no plans to lead by majority desires. get ready for a very different and tougher world. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg."
Absolutely correct.
It is a begining of long journey which leads to blunt confrontation between modern world and medieval ideology. I think ultimately western world will be prevail.
Dear Siavash, I agree with modernity vs. medieval ideology. Yet Trump represents a lot of medieval ideology similar to slimic repubic. The confrontation you hope for won't have the shape or the outcome. It is white nativism with unholy alliance of a lot of religious fanatics with wall of Babylon type beliefs ala old testament.
It's really not western world against eastern, rather it is the ultra rich with command of technologies of control and sufficient number of 'hopefuls' to follow them. And overestimating American power and pull is a fallacy that Bush jr. tried and miserably failed. I recall similar talk and hopes with the world and Iran when he first came huffing and puffing too. Trump can only fare worse.
Most of these radical ideas including ISIS have their roots, weapons and funding in the West with their Eastern bitches like Saudis. It is reason vs. emotion not East vs. West. Way back when, East was not won by superior Western ideas, but superior weapons.
5 year old Iranian boy got detained and released at the airport!
Sad, they can't even leave a 5 year old alone!
http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2017/01/29/mom-reunion-son-dulles-airport.cnn
Atrocious. Incredible. I suggest we knock everything down and reform the entire system.
".....confrontation between modern world and medieval ideology. I think ultimately western world............"
I understand the sentiment here. However, are you saying that people like Steve Bannon, a known White Supremacist now a powerful White House figure, thanks to Trump, and similar others that Trump is gatehring around him are the "modern" ones?
Really? Then we are in deep deep shit. Everyone is.
When Trump moved to the White House, the conventional wisdom was that he will be impeached because of conflicts of interest from his business dealings with shady foreign characters and the Russian mafia. However, after a week in the office, it more and more looks like that he will be forced to resign for defying court orders and the judicial system.
And in a Trumpian way, that’s how he wants to leave; blaming the system, the media and the others for his failures, and promise to be back in the future, just like the 12th Emam!
This is far bigger than this travel ban which is to cater to the dumb and stupid AMERICAN Trump support base: it's about isolansim, trade wars, higher costs to consumers and a crippled economy that's coming. Unfrotuantely most people are too stupid to realize all this and see the shit storm that is coming.
Trump admininstration is testing the reaction of Iranians toward this visa issue . The underline issue is to topple ruling criminal mullahs in Iran. The solution is to mobliize all Iranians who lives in U.S and Canada to gather in Washington D.C on certain day to show their solidarity with Americans against international terrorism which is mostly masterminded by Islamic gang who occupied Iranian's government and parliament. Rasing Shir o khorsheed flag is necessary to separate them from those who are on payroll by criminal mullahs.
Here is the future.
https://sputniknews.com/military/201701281050114071-uk-leads-gulf-war-games/
Hopefully we topple the criminal mullahs before our country get bombed by foreign powers.
It seems the link doesn't get opened. Here is again.
https://sputniknews.com/military/201701281050114071-uk-leads-gulf-war-games/
Steve Bannon describes himself as an "American Nationalist", NOT white nationalist. So he tries to avoid racial sentiment in his speech. He is the one who is calling the shot. He has Mr. president's ear. He views Islam as "political ideology", NOT religion. something that Iranians should have known before they had revolution. He sees Islam as an enemy of western values. Therefore, to ban muslims seems very legitimate to protect American's lives.
Bannon is a "White America Nationalist", the type that stepped off the Mayflower and scalped the Natives.
The Iranians that are being banned are young, educated people who are getting their degrees at Harvard and Stanford, or work at Google, Facebook and Microsoft. At the time of the revolution most of these Iranians were just a twinkle in their moms' eyes, and not even in their wombs!
NOT Iranians, it is better to say "Muslims". Yes, there are many educated muslims who are in favor of terrorist groups such as Alghaedeh or ISIS.
Some of them are Indian or Pakistani who are holding M.D degree from U.K. They believe that U.S should stay out of Middle East in general and Syria specifically, and Sunni brothers will take care of the region perfectly. I heard that with my own ear.
When the calls come, they generously contribute mony to mosques or any Islamic groups who are against U.S. That is something westerners never understand.