US Army interpreter in Baghdad and Mosul prevented from entering US because of Trump's refugee ban

[Anonymous]

Disgusting. This man who put his life on the line for American soldiers by acting as their interpreter was turned away at JFK yesterday.

This is someone who was threatened for working with the US military. His family is already here. He was cleared to come in. We owe him a debt of gratitude and this is how he is repaid.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/us/refugees-detained-at-us-airports-prompting-legal-challenges-to-trumps-immigration-order.html

Mr. Darweesh worked as an interpreter for the Army’s 101st Airborne Division in Baghdad and Mosul starting shortly after the invasion of Iraq on April 1, 2003. The filing said he had been directly targeted twice for working with the United States military....Brandon Friedman, who worked with Mr. Darweesh as an infantry lieutenant with the 101st Airborne, praised Mr. Darweesh’s work. “This is a guy that this country owes a debt of gratitude to,” Mr. Friedman said. “There are not many Americans who have done as much for this country as he has. He’s put himself on the line. He’s put his family on the line to help U.S. soldiers in combat, and it is astonishing to me that this country would suddenly not allow people like that in.”

Mr. Friedman, who is the chief executive of the McPherson Square Group, a communications firm in Washington, added, “We have a moral obligation to protect and repay these people who risked their lives for U.S. troops.”

He also said he feared for America’s military. “This not only endangers troops in the future, it endangers troops who are in combat now in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, wherever, “Mr. Friedman said. “If those interpreters and those fixers hear that the United States is not going to protect them, then they don’t have any incentive to work with U.S. troops, and there’s no way that we can operate without their support and assistance.”
“He is a brave individual, and he cares about Iraq and he cares about the U.S.,” he said of Mr. Darweesh.

[Anonymous]

Understand he's in detention. Not great but hopefully gives a judge the chance to put some sort of hold on the eo. Maybe even rule it unconstitutional? I surely hope so. We can't do this.

[Anonymous]

He's not alone. Heartbreaking stories like this are going to pile up. Bannon/Trump failed compassion/empathy 101.

[Anonymous]

Utterly disgusting. Not to mention unconstituional. Trump and his supporters should be ashamed. We should all be outraged.

[Anonymous]

There are many, many green card holders abroad with flights back over the next few months that are going to be in the same situation. These are U.S permanent residents!!! Some are even in the U.S armed forces. Just wait will we have US soldiers banned from the United States. It's bound to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are many, many green card holders abroad with flights back over the next few months that are going to be in the same situation. These are U.S permanent residents!!! Some are even in the U.S armed forces. Just wait will we have US soldiers banned from the United States. It's bound to happen.

I wonder if he will ban naturalized US citizens from these countries from serving the Armed forces?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:There are many, many green card holders abroad with flights back over the next few months that are going to be in the same situation. These are U.S permanent residents!!! Some are even in the U.S armed forces. Just wait will we have US soldiers banned from the United States. It's bound to happen.

There are green card holders who have already been denied entry. They were on vacation and can't return to their homes in the US.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many, many green card holders abroad with flights back over the next few months that are going to be in the same situation. These are U.S permanent residents!!! Some are even in the U.S armed forces. Just wait will we have US soldiers banned from the United States. It's bound to happen.

There are green card holders who have already been denied entry. They were on vacation and can't return to their homes in the US.

Shades of the 1930s. We're moving closer to a repeat of Nazi Germany. It's only been 1 week!!

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are many, many green card holders abroad with flights back over the next few months that are going to be in the same situation. These are U.S permanent residents!!! Some are even in the U.S armed forces. Just wait will we have US soldiers banned from the United States. It's bound to happen.

There are green card holders who have already been denied entry. They were on vacation and can't return to their homes in the US.

Right, but it seems CBP is doing this to LPRs on a case-by-case basis and demanding to access FB pages and other social media to assess intent. This is illegal in multiple ways.

CBP now even seems to the authority to block US soldiers returning from leave. Soldiers with green cards can return from assignment because they can travel on their military ID with orders to enter the US, but any green card holder on vacation is off to secondary and possible refusal, which would make them AWOL and subject to action under the UCMJ. Nobody thought any of this through.

[Anonymous]

I guess what I can't get over is how blatant it was that Trump is protecting his own personal business interests with this band by not including Saudia Arabia and Egypt where he has business interests. And those are countries we know terrorists came from. So he's obviously not "putting America first" - he's making a show for his base while putting his own financial interests first.

[Anonymous]

Why would greencard holders not be able to return? They are not applying for new visas.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Why would greencard holders not be able to return? They are not applying for new visas.

Valid visas are being ignored. The EO is being applied to current visa holders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would greencard holders not be able to return? They are not applying for new visas.

You'll have to ask Trump and his henchmen that question.

People holding so-called green cards, making them legal permanent US residents, are included in President Donald Trump’s executive action temporarily banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, the Department of Homeland security has confirmed to Reuters

“It will bar green card holders,” Gillian Christensen, acting spokeswoman for the department, reportedly said in an email.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2017/jan/28/world-digests-donald-trumps-order-to-ban-refugees-from-muslim-countries

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would greencard holders not be able to return? They are not applying for new visas.

Because the order applies to anyone attempting to enter the country, not anyone applying for a visa.

My guess is it's illegal written that way bit it will take a while to sort out and courts are generally pretty relictant to interfere with border operations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would greencard holders not be able to return? They are not applying for new visas.

Because the order applies to anyone attempting to enter the country, not anyone applying for a visa.

My guess is it's illegal written that way bit it will take a while to sort out and courts are generally pretty relictant to interfere with border operations.

Goes to show what amateurs Trump's people are.