Immigration ban calls attorneys to action

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When Milwaukee immigration attorney Kime Abduli heard about President Donald Trump’s executive order banning immigration from certain Muslim countries, she wasn’t content to sit by passively and let others deal with the fallout.

Instead, after getting a little help from social media, she found herself on her way to O’Hare International Airport’s Terminal 5 on Sunday. There she ended up volunteering for eight hours with dozens of other attorneys who were trying to help travelers sort out whether they were still welcome in the U.S.

“After everything that had happened last week, I felt like I needed to do something,” Abduli said. “I was struggling at first to figure out what I could do.”

Abduli, a solo practitioner, was one of hundreds of attorneys around the nation who went to airports throughout the country in the past few days to aid immigrants who could be affected by Trump’s executive order. O’Hare saw more than 150 such volunteers on Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

Milwaukee’s General Mitchell Airport has yet to see a similar outpouring of support. Lawyers in the area are still trying to decide if there is a need, Abduli said, noting that people from the affected countries seldom come through Mitchell airport.

Trump’s executive order, issued Friday, institutes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee program. Trump has insisted it’s not a ban on Muslims’ entering the country but instead a policy meant to keep the country safe.

At least three federal courts have stayed the order.

Erich Straub, a Milwaukee immigration attorney, said Trump’s comments on the campaign trail made it highly likely that something such as Friday’s order would be coming. Even so, he was surprised by the policy’s final shape.

“I didn’t expect the executive order to be implemented in a way that would affect permanent residents,” he said. “They are not citizens but they do have constitutional rights, which has been upheld in the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Straub said clients’ calls have become more frequent since Trump was elected. The executive order has only added to the fervor.

His clients are terrified — even Canadians, he said.

“Everyone who is an immigrant or needs a visa to get in and out of this country is terrified,” Straub said.

Abduli said the order has sowed panic and confusion.

“It’s really awful because a lot of these people, especially permanent residents, have been here for years — decades even,” she said. “The difference is they don’t vote. In every other way, they’re just as American as everyone else.”

The Associated Press also contributed to this report.