- Title: Tears at LAX as Trump's immigration order divides families
- Date: 29th January 2017
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 28, 2017) (REUTERS) VIEW OF CHECK-IN AREA AT LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (LAX) PEOPLE WAITING AT ARRIVALS AREA VARIOUS OF SCREENS SHOWING FLIGHT ARRIVAL INFORMATION SIGN FOR 'U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION' (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN-AMERICAN HOSSEIN KHOSHBAKHTY, 60, SAYING: "Around 1:30 somebody called us and said I'm sorry I have bad news for you. Your brother is here, I said can I talk to him? He said 'no', that he's just going to be deported tomorrow with the first airline. I said 'what can I do?' He said 'nothing.'" KHOSHBAKHTY AND OTHER PEOPLE WAITING FOR THEIR RELATIVES TO COME THROUGH ARRIVALS ASKING FOR ADVICE FROM VOLUNTEER IMMIGRATION LAWYERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN-AMERICAN HOSSEIN KHOSHBAKHTY, 60, SAYING: "The American and Iran relation is affected already. But we are people, we are not the government. We are not doing nothing. If the government does something wrong with this government, we are not responsible. I'm American not Iranian. What I can do? Why I have to be punished for somebody else's problem." PEOPLE GATHERED WITH REPRESENTATIVE AS THEY WAIT FOR THE RELATIVES TO COME THROUGH ARRIVALS (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN-AMERICAN HOSSEIN KHOSHBAKHTY, 60, SAYING: "I don't know what I have to do. We ran away from Iran to this country (because there) they do something like this, now we have the same situation here. I'm a U.S. citizen for 15 or 20 years and my brother didn't do nothing wrong in no place in the world and I didn't do nothing wrong. I'm a contractor working hard here, I'm working hard here and building houses for people, the American people and I am an American too." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GETTING INFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEER IMMIGRATION LAWYERS PASSENGERS COMING THROUGH ARRIVALS AREA PEOPLE WAITING AT ARRIVALS AREA PEOPLE GATHERED AT AIRPORT (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN-AMERICAN HOMS HOMAEI, 56, SAYING: "I feel a little bit, I'm sad. That's it. I'm sad. I don't know what happened ... I feel sad that's all." WOMAN HUGGING HER PARTNER AT ARRIVALS AREA (SOUNDNBITE) (English) IRANIAN-CANADIAN HANA TAHAEI, 27, SAYING: "It was a great variety of people yeah, I would say a lot of us were Middle Eastern. They asked a lot of questions about my ... because I was born in Tehran. They were asking for further information about that, are my parents from there .. all that." SIGN FOR U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION (SOUNDNBITE) (English) IRANIAN-CANADIAN HANA TAHAEI, 27, SAYING: "It didn't seem like anyone knew what was going on and a lot of people were very frustrated, a lot of kind of arguments happening and all that. It was a very tense room for sure." SIGN FOR AIRLINE CHECK-IN AREA ARRIVALS AREA/PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNERS CARRYING NAMES OF PEOPLE DENIED ENTRY AT LOS ANGELES' LAX AIRPORT MORE OF BANNERS WITH NAMES OF PEOPLE TURNED AWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROTESTER ARIELA GROSS, 51, SAYING: "We decided to come down here to protest the unconstitutional executive orders put out by President Trump yesterday banning people from the United States based only on their nationality and really their religion which is un-American, unconstitutional and in violation of the immigration act of 1965." MORE OF PROTESTERS HOLDING UP BANNERS WITH NAMES OF PEOPLE DETAINED
- Embargoed: 12th February 2017 02:12
- Keywords: Immigration Muslims Los Angeles LAX refugees visas Middle East
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001614TAVB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: There were tearful scenes at the arrivals area at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday (January 28) as families with backgrounds from seven Muslim majority countries were told their loved ones, that had just landed in the U.S. and who are green card holders, would be denied entry and deported following President Donald Trump's immigration order.
The executive order was signed by the new Republican president on Friday and put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other countries.
Although the order hit a roadblock late Saturday when a federal judge said stranded travelers could stay in the country, the damage had already been done in Los Angeles.
Iranian-American Hossein Khoshbakhty came to the airport to pickup his brother, who is a U.S. green card holder. As he was waiting, he received a call telling him his brother was going to be deported.
"Around 1:30 somebody called us and said I'm sorry I have bad news for you. Your brother is here, I said can I talk to him? He said 'no', that he's just going to be deported tomorrow with the first airline. I said 'what can I do?' He said 'nothing,'" said 60-year-old Khoshbakhty, who has been a U.S. citizen for almost two decades.
"We are people, we are not the government. We are not doing nothing. If the government (Iran) does something wrong with this government (U.S.), we are not responsible. I'm American not Iranian. What I can do? Why I have to be punished for somebody else's problem?" asked Khoshbakhty, before breaking down in tears.
"I don't know what I have to do. We ran away from Iran to this country (because there) they do something like this, now we have the same situation here. I'm a U.S. citizen for 15 or 20 years and my brother didn't do nothing wrong in no place in the world and I didn't do nothing wrong. I'm a contractor working hard here, I'm working hard here and building houses for people, the American people and I am an American too," he added.
Khoshbakhty was not the only Los Angeles resident receiving bad news at LAX.
Fifty-six year-old Iranian-American Homs Homaei also struggled to hold back her emotions after being told her brother-in-law was being detained.
"I feel a little bit, I'm sad. That's it. I'm sad. I don't know what happened ... I feel sad that's all," said the Los Angeles resident.
Iranian-Canadian Hana Tahei, who works in Kansas City, had gone to Thailand for a holiday and said she was held and questioned for five hours because of her Iranian heritage.
"It was a great variety of people yeah, I would say a lot of us were Middle Eastern. They asked a lot of questions about my ... because I was born in Tehran. They were asking for further information about that, are my parents from there .. all that," she recalled, after embracing her partner.
"It didn't seem like anyone knew what was going on and a lot of people were very frustrated, a lot of kind of arguments happening and all that. It was a very tense room for sure," she said.
Trump's executive order will also mean legal permanent residents who have passports from the seven countries have to be cleared back into the United States on a case-by-case basis, an official has said.
To protest Trump's order, a group staged a demonstration at the LAX arrivals area by carrying banners with the names of people detained or deported since Trump signed the order.
"We decided to come down here to protest the unconstitutional executive orders put out by President Trump yesterday banning people from the United States based only on their nationality and really their religion which is un-American, unconstitutional and in violation of the immigration act of 1965," said protester Ariel Gross.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the temporary stay on Saturday, said it would help 100 to 200 people with valid visas or refugee status who found themselves detained in transit or at U.S. airports after Trump signed the order late on Friday.
It was a dramatic end to Trump's first week in office, capped by the Republican president's four-month ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria and six other countries.
Trump had promised during his campaign what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees to try to prevent terror attacks.
He told reporters in the White House's Oval Office earlier on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban" and said the measures were long overdue. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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