Minnesota Attorneys Prepare For Federal Travel Ban

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Attorneys in the Twin Cities are preparing for the impact of the Trump administration’s revised travel ban, which requires new visa applicants from six mostly Muslim nations to have a close family or business tie to the U.S.

St. Paul immigration attorney Kara Lynum is organizing an effort to monitor international flights to ensure no one is wrongfully denied entry when the ban takes effect, Minnesota Public Radio (http://bit.ly/2unmaQu ) reported.

“If someone is denied entry, and they do have a bona fide relationship, then we would be working with our local litigators … to hold the government to the standard that the Supreme Court set out,” Lynum said.

The law would affect refugees from Somalia, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan.

Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota Executive Director John Keller said he believes the executive order won’t pass constitutional muster.
Kim Crockett, the senior policy fellow and general counsel at Center of the American Experiment, called the restrictions modest, saying they are in line with the president’s duty to protect the country and can help the state budget, which she believes allocates too much in resettling refugees.

“I think we’ve welcomed a lot of people here, and now we need to do a good job of actually getting them squared away,” Crockett said. “I think it’s going to be harder to do if we just keep bringing people in.”
Abu Talib Ali is a refugee who was granted asylum seven years ago and moved to Minneapolis from Sudan.

“When I came, I didn’t have any family members in the United States, but America gave me my freedom,” Ali said. “This is the place that has helped me feel safe for the first time in 20 years. Now, I am very afraid that people like me will not be able to find safety.”