‘THE RIGHT THING’

Those Denied U.S. Entry Under Trump Travel Ban Can Reapply

Gov’t reportedly plans to send letters to everyone barred from entering in January.

People who were barred from entering the U.S. after President Donald Trump’s first travel ban took effect in January can now re-apply for visas, CNN reports. The decision comes as part of a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed by two Iraqi citizens, Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, both of whom were denied entry and sent home despite having valid visas. The government reportedly plans to send letters to all those who were denied entry in the chaotic first hours after the ban took effect Jan. 27, when about 2,000 people were detained at airports and about 140 sent back to their home countries, according to the ACLU. Citing the settlement, CNN reported that the government will reach out to all those who “were found inadmissible solely as a result of the executive order.” Lee Gelernt, the ACLU’s deputy director for the Immigration Rights Project, hailed the move as evidence the government is finally doing “the right thing” regarding the first travel ban’s implementation. The settlement does not guarantee that applicants will be granted visas if they re-apply.