Travelers arrive in US to hugs and tears after ban is lifted
BOSTON (AP) — Travelers from the seven predominantly Muslim countries targeted by President Donald Trump enjoyed tearful reunions with loved ones in the U.S. on Sunday after a federal judge swept the ban aside.
Airlines around the world allowed people to board flights as usual to the United States.
Similar scenes played out across the U.S. two days after a federal judge in Seattle suspended the president's travel ban and just hours after a federal appeals court denied the Trump administration's request to set aside the ruling.
The U.S. canceled the visas of up to 60,000 foreigners in the week after the ban on travel from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen took effect, according to the State Department.
The order triggered protests and a multitude of legal challenges around the country and blocked numerous college students, researchers and others from entering the U.S.
Trump, who said the goal was to keep terrorists from slipping into the country, lashed out against U.S. District Judge James Robart for putting the ban on hold.
Mahsa Azabadi, 29, an Iranian-American who lives in Denver, was forced to put her wedding plans on hold after her fiance, Sorena Behzadfar, was turned away when he tried to board a plane to travel from Iran to the U.S. on Jan. 28.
At Kennedy, a team of volunteer lawyers that had set up operations in a diner to help arriving passengers during the height of the crisis packed up computer equipment and paperwork.