Not one of the 17 people held for questioning at O’Hare International Airport Saturday was a refugee—or a terrorist for that matter. Most of them were visa or green card holders who had previously been granted long-term or permanent residency in the United States. Two of them were babies who had been born in the U.S. and who had been taken to Iran to meet their extended families. But all had the misfortune of being in transit on Friday evening when President Donald Trump issued his executive order banning nationals of six mostly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days. The order also banned the entry of refugees for the next 120 days, and Syrian refugees indefinitely.
“If you’re there for six hours . . .” said attorney Fiona McEntee, ” . . . with no access to attorneys,” added attorney Kathleen Vannucci, “and they won’t let you call your family members,” continued McEntee. “Well, if it looks like a duck . . . it’s detention.”
“The Muslim ban, the Mexican ban,” Rehab said. “Donald Trump is attacking communities one at a time through various means. Stand together!”
But other lawyers were not so optimistic. The 90- and 120-day bans meant that travelers, even those with visas, could be stranded outside the U.S. indefinitely. Ian Wagreich was concerned that many employers, especially those at small companies, wouldn’t be able to hold jobs open for that long.
Trump announced Sunday morning that he was scaling back the ban, and that permanent U.S. residents with green cards will be allowed reentry.
