BOSTON — Travelers from the seven predominantly Muslim countries targeted by President Donald Trump enjoyed tearful reunions with loved ones in the United States on Sunday after a federal judge swept the ban aside.
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Airlines worldwide allowed people to board flights as usual to the United States. One lawyer waiting at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport said visa and green-card holders from Iraq and Iran were encountering no problems as they arrived.
"It’s business as usual," said Camille Mackler, of the New York Immigration Coalition.
Fariba Tajrostami, a 32-year-old painter from Iran, came through the gate at Kennedy with a huge smile and tears in her eyes as her brothers greeted her with joyful hugs.
"I’m very happy. I haven’t seen my brothers for nine years," she said.
Tajrostami had tried to fly to the United States from Turkey over a week ago but was turned away.
"I was crying and was so disappointed," she said. "Everything I had in mind, what I was going to do, I was so disappointed about everything. I thought it was all over."
Tajrostami said she hopes to study art and plans to join her husband in Dallas soon. He moved from Iran six months ago, has a green card and is working at a car dealership.
Similar scenes played out across the country two days after a federal judge in Seattle suspended the president’s travel ban and just hours after a federal appeals court denied the Trump administration’s request to set aside the ruling.
The United States canceled the visas of up to 60,000 foreigners in the week after the ban on travel from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen took effect, according to the State Department. Trump also suspended nearly all refugee admissions for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely.
The order triggered protests and a multitude of legal challenges around the country and blocked numerous college students, researchers and others from entering the country.
Trump, who said the goal was to keep terrorists from slipping into the country, lashed out against U.S. District Judge James Robart for putting the ban on hold. He referred to Robart as a "so-called judge" and called the ruling "ridiculous."
On Sunday, the president tweeted: "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!"
Mahsa Azabadi, 29, an Iranian-American who lives in Denver, was forced to put her wedding plans on hold after her fiance, Sorena Behzadfar, was turned away when he tried to board a plane to travel Jan. 28 from Iran to the United States.
Over the weekend, though, Behzadfar was cleared for travel.
"It’s been a really tough week to figure out what will happen to us," said Azabadi, who has lived in the country for 11 years and is now a U.S. citizen.
"Seeing the support from the lawyers and different people trying to help, it was really nice," she said. "We want to be the best and do the best for the people and for this country. We would love to have the opportunity."
An Iranian woman attempting to return home from Iran after initially being blocked from entry cleared an immigration check in Boston and was expected to return home to Clemson, S.C., on Monday.
Nazanin Zinouri was taken off a plane in Dubai days after the travel ban went into effect. Zinouri, a legal U.S. resident, had traveled to Iran last month to visit family.
At Cairo Airport on Sunday, officials said a total of 33 U.S.-bound migrants from Yemen, Syria and Iraq boarded flights.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said airlines operating out of Beirut also began allowing Syrian families and others affected by the ban to fly. Beirut has no direct U.S. flights; travelers must go through Europe.
At Kennedy, a team of volunteer lawyers that had set up operations in a diner to help arriving passengers during the height of the crisis packed up computer equipment and paperwork. A few volunteers and interpreters will stay behind just in case.
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