Travelers denied entry a week ago, now arriving in US
NEW YORK (AP) — Travelers from the seven Muslim-majority countries targeted by President Donald Trump who were denied entry into the United States a week ago are arriving at airports around the country and into the open arms of their loved ones.
Similar scenes played out across the U.S. after a federal judge in Seattle on Friday suspended the president's travel ban and 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.