Critics push U.S. to help Europe by taking more refugees

[kscarbel2]

BBC  /  November 19, 2016

An asylum seeker from Myanmar has been identified as the man who set himself alight in a bank in the Australian city of Melbourne on Friday.

The 21-year-old is under guard in hospital after the incident that injured 26 others.

He arrived by boat three years ago and had been released from detention pending a decision on his case.

His benefits had not been in his account when he tried to withdraw them on Wednesday.

The man, known to his friends as Noor, set himself alight using gasoline at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia branch in the Melbourne suburb of Springvale.

Five bystanders suffered burns and 21 more smoke inhalation.

Video taken by eyewitnesses of the immediate aftermath showed flames inside the bank branch and thick black smoke.

The suspect had arrived in Australia as an unaccompanied minor and was awaiting receipt of a refugee visa.

The man was reportedly of mixed Muslim parentage. Although he is partly Rohingya - the Muslim community that lives in Rakhine state near the Bangladesh border and which has been denied citizenship and freedom of movement by the government - he reportedly lived in southern Myanmar.

He had been detained in a camp on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean before being moved to Melbourne.

The president of the Australian Burmese Rohingya Organisation, Habib Habib, told the Melbourne Age: "He has been suffering and his friends say his welfare payment was not received and he couldn't pay his rent."

He had returned to the bank each day after finding his money was not available on Wednesday.

Mr Habib said: "This system makes all of them crazy. They're in legal limbo."

Refugee and asylum seeker advocate Pamela Curr told the Age the man was also was known to have mental health problems.

The department of immigration has set up a fast-track system to process about 30,000 asylum claims.

[james j neiweem]

Take over Saudi Arabia. Refugee and oil problem solved. Why is it that Europe and North America have to solve the refugee problem? What about the rest of Africa and South America. Doesn't Europe and the US realize that the Muslims are trying to conquer them from within.

[kscarbel2]

2 hours ago, james j neiweem said:

Take over Saudi Arabia. Refugee and oil problem solved. Why is it that Europe and North America have to solve the refugee problem? What about the rest of Africa and South America. Doesn't Europe and the US realize that the Muslims are trying to conquer them from within.

Jim, this is the 3 million dollar question. I would like to know the answer as well.

And always remember, 99 percent are NOT refugees, rather they are economic migrants.

[kscarbel2]

Mr. Moussa has 10 children and 2 wives.

And now, the United Nations is giving him free money.

13 food debit cards at $27 each = $351 for food alone

Moussa also receives a second debit card with $170 a month that he can spend however he wants (more during the winter)

“Refugees” certainly live well nowadays.

Why isn’t an able-bodied man like Moussa fighting to take back his homeland?

.

 

[kscarbel2]

If denied EU membership, Turkey threatens to let 3 million refugees into Europe

The Guardian  /  November 25, 2016

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to tear up a landmark deal to stem the flow of refugees into Europe a day after the European parliament urged governments to freeze EU accession talks with Ankara [Turkey].

The threat underlines how far relations between Turkey and the European bloc have deteriorated in recent months, particularly after a coup attempt in July.

“You clamoured when 50,000 refugees came to Kapikule, and started wondering what would happen if the border gates were opened,” Erdogan said Friday, referring to a Bulgarian border checkpoint where refugees massed last year.

“If you go any further, these border gates will be opened. Neither I nor my people will be affected by these empty threats,” he said. “Do not forget, the west needs Turkey.”

Erdoğan’s statements, the most direct warning yet that Turkey could abandon the agreement, came in response to a symbolic, non-binding vote in the European parliament on Thursday that demanded an end to the decade-long accession negotiations.

Turkish officials said the vote was meaningless but that it raised questions about the entire partnership between their country and the European bloc. Germany, France and most other EU states back continued engagement.

The EU and Turkeynegotiated a deal in March of this year that halted the influx of refugees, particularly from Syria, into Europe in exchange for economic aid [a bribe] and a promise to grant visa-free travel to Turkish citizens within the Schengen zone. The latter clause has [wisely] not been fulfilled.

But relations collapsed after a failed coup attempt in July. Turkish officials say Europe has failed to show sufficient support in the aftermath of the putsch, and bristle instead at the repeated criticism of a purge of tens of thousands of civil servants, army officers and policemen accused of links to Fethullah Gülen, a US-based preacher whose movement is widely believed in Turkey to have orchestrated the coup plot. He denies the allegations.

Brussels has also repeatedly criticised a crackdown in recent weeks on media outlets and Kurdish politicians, saying the campaign raised questions about Turkey’s commitment to EU values. The European parliament’s outgoing president, Martin Schulz, suggested EU leaders could opt for imposing economic sanctions on Turkey.

[kscarbel2]

Bulgaria is ready to enforce its borders.

.

.

 

[kscarbel2]

CNN  /  December 6, 2016

German chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a ban on full-face veils in Germany.

"The full veil is not appropriate here, it should be forbidden wherever that is legally possible. It does not belong to us," she told her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere also calling for the veil to barred from public places in August.

"It does not fit into our society for us, for our communication, for our cohesion in the society.... This is why we demand you show your face," he said.

"We do not want any parallel societies and where they exist we have to tackle them, said Merkel.

"Our laws have priority over honor codes, tribal and family rules, and over the Sharia. That has to be expressed very clearly. That also means that with interpersonal communication, which plays a fundamental role here, we show our face. This is why the full facial veil is inappropriate, and should be banded wherever it is legally possible. It does not belong in our country," said Merkel

At the end of her speech, Merkel received an 11-minute standing ovation and applause.

In April 2011, France became the first European country to ban wearing the burqa, a full-body covering that includes mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes, in public.

Those breaking the law face fines of 150 euros (about $205) or public service duties.

The law was upheld by the European Convention on Human Rights in 2014 after a 24-year-old woman brought the case to court, claiming it infringed on her religious freedom.

.

[kscarbel2]

Marine Le Pen: Illegal migrants' children 'should not get free schooling'

CNN  /  December 8, 2016

France's far-right party leader, Marine Le Pen, said children of illegal immigrants should be refused a free education.

Le Pen, who ran for the presidency in 2012 on an anti-immigration platform and plans to run again next year, said the hardline move -- which flouts French law and the European Convention on Human Rights, would discourage immigration.

"I think free and compulsory schooling for the children of illegal parents encourages more immigration, which must be stopped," Le Pen told reporters on Thursday in Paris.

Le Pen said that if elected president, she would also consider implementing a waiting period for foreigners to access certain public services or social benefits.

"I think this is fair, as our social protection system and our public services are now overloaded, overwhelmed."

Le Pen celebrated the surprise victory of US President-elect Donald Trump as a boost to her own cause, saying it showed people were "taking their future back."

She said that if she were in power, the country [France] would be "nothing like you have seen in the last 30 years."

"I am opposed to a multicultural France. I think that those who have a different culture and who arrive in France have to submit themselves to French culture. Like the old saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' I think that in France we should do like the French people," she said.

Le Pen has said she wants to follow Britain's lead and take France out of the 28-member European Union.

[kscarbel2]

Merkel made catastrophic mistake over open door to refugees, says Trump

The Guardian  /  January 15, 2017

US president-elect tells German newspaper Bild that chancellor was wrong ‘letting all these illegals into the country’

Donald Trump has called Angela Merkel’s open door policy to refugees a “catastrophic mistake”, which he said Germany would pay for.

In his first interview with mainland European media, Trump told the tabloid Bild that while he had “great respect” for the chancellor, calling her “magnificent” and a “fantastic chief”, she had made an “utterly catastrophic mistake by letting all these illegals into the country”, according to a translation from the German version of his interview.

“Do you know, letting all these people in, wherever they come from. And no one knows where they come from at all. You will find out, you’ve had a clear impression of that,” he said, referring to the December attack in Berlin in which 12 people were killed when a lorry driven by an asylum seeker from Tunisia careered into a Christmas market. “So I am of the opinion that she made a catastrophic mistake, a very serious mistake.”

When asked whether he would be willing, like his predecessor Barack Obama, to support Merkel’s re-election when she stands for a fourth term as chancellor next autumn, he said: “I respect her, I like her. But I don’t know her so I can’t say anything as to who I might support - in the case that I would support anyone.”

In the simultaneous interview with Germany’s Bild and the Times, he was pressed as to whether he would repeat his claim that Merkel’s refugee policy towards Syrians was “insane”. Trump replied: “I think that it was not good. I think that it was a big mistake for Germany. In particular Germany. Germany was (in earlier times) one of the strictest countries in the world regarding immigration rules.”

He said he would meet Merkel. “I respect her and I like her, but I think it was a mistake,” he said. “People make mistakes, but I think it was a really big mistake.

“I think we should have set up security zones in Syria. That would have been considerably cheaper. And the gulf states should have had to pay for them. After all, they have money like hardly anyone else has. The whole thing would have been considerably cheaper than the trauma that Germany is now going through. I would have said: create security zones in Syria.
“Look, this whole thing should never have happened. Iraq should never have been attacked in the first place, right? That was one of the worst decisions, possibly the worst decision that has ever been made in the history of our country. We managed to unleash something; it was like throwing stones into a bees’ nest. And now, it is one of the biggest screw-ups of all time.

“I have just looked at something … Oh, I should not show you it at all, because it’s secret - but I have just taken a look at Afghanistan. If you look at the Taliban there, they’re just getting bigger and bigger and bigger every year. And you ask yourself ‘what’s going on there?’”

It was put to Trump that Merkel and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, know each other well, that he speaks fluent German and she speaks fluent Russian. He was asked which of the two he trusted more. “First and foremost, I trust both of them,” he said.

Asked if he understood why eastern Europeans might fear Putin and Russia, Trump responded: “Of course. Indeed. I know that. I mean, I understand what’s going on there. I’ve been saying for a long time, Nato has problems. It is obsolete because, for a start, it was created many many years ago and secondly, because countries don’t pay what they should pay.”

Trump also told Bild that the US would impose a border tax of 35% on cars that BMW, a German company, plans to build at a new plant in Mexico and export to the US.

The US president-elect said BMW should build its new car factory in the US because this would be much better for the company.

A spokeswoman for the carmaker said a BMW Group plant in San Luis Potosí would build the BMW 3 Series starting from 2019, with the output intended for the world market. The plant in Mexico will be an addition to existing 3 Series production facilities in Germany and China.

The US president-elect went on to say that Germany was a great car producer, borne out by Mercedes-Benz cars being a frequent sight in New York, but there was no reciprocity. Germans were not buying Chevrolets at the same rate, he said, making the business relationship an unfair one-way street. He said he was an advocate of free trade but not at any cost.

The BMW spokeswoman said the company was “very much at home in the US,” employing directly and indirectly nearly 70,000 people in the country.

Asked in the interview conducted on Friday in New York city, whether there was anything typically German about him, Trump, whose grandfather was German, said: “I like orderliness. I like it when things are dealt with in an orderly way. That’s what the Germans are quite well-known for. But I also like order and I like strength.”

[kscarbel2]

Why are people domestically and abroad whining?

Trump's executive order bars citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for a mere 90 days, and suspends the admission of all refugees for a mere 120 days. Three to four months...........that's nothing. In comparison, born-in-the-US citizens routinely wait a year for their overseas spouse's "green card" to be processed.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Problem is, Trump is an amateur who doesn't know how to write laws, and he surrounds himself with staffers that won't upstage him. So he issues a poorly worded EO that bans entry of noncitizens from those 7 countries period. Immigration at the airport gets the order and follows it, literally... Detaining Green Card holders who live in the U.S. and are just returning from trips abroad. Some of these folks are in fact Iraqis who translated for our soldiers and saved their butts... And Trump was stupid enough to deny them refuge here! Fortunately the ACLU went to court and got a judge to order the Green Card holders release.

[kscarbel2]

11 hours ago, TeamsterGrrrl said:

Problem is, Trump is an amateur who doesn't know how to write laws, and he surrounds himself with staffers that won't upstage him. So he issues a poorly worded EO that bans entry of noncitizens from those 7 countries period. Immigration at the airport gets the order and follows it, literally... Detaining Green Card holders who live in the U.S. and are just returning from trips abroad. Some of these folks are in fact Iraqis who translated for our soldiers and saved their butts... And Trump was stupid enough to deny them refuge here! Fortunately the ACLU went to court and got a judge to order the Green Card holders release.

Poorly worded, no doubt.

But clear regulations should be followed literally. (I hope "illegal" aliens will no longer be allowed to exist in our country.......we do have laws clearly prohibiting)

I imagine there are only a handful of returning green card holders..........that's minor issue. The services of any dedicated Iraqi translator* who has sworn the oath of US citizenship are appreciated, but I doubt there's more than five involved here.

Most of the time, I'm no fan of the ACLU.

*  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/29/iraq-trump-travel-ban-service-america

[TeamsterGrrrl]

These were legal aliens who were detained upon arriving in the U.S., and they number in the hundreds- Google alone employs about 200.

[kscarbel2]

10 hours ago, TeamsterGrrrl said:

These were legal aliens who were detained upon arriving in the U.S., and they number in the hundreds- Google alone employs about 200.

According to the BBC (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38786660)…………...

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed a case in response to the order issued on Friday, estimates that (only) 100-200 people are being held at airports or in transit.

I know first hand no more than you, but I'm guessing their number is generous.

As we’ve all read by now, New York Federal Judge Anne Donnelly has issued a temporary halt to the deportation of visa holders or refugees stranded at airports after President Donald Trump issued an order barring entry to them for 90 days.  (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2017/images/01/28/darweesh.v.trump_decision.and.order.document-3.pdf)

State attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Washington and Hawaiiare discussing whether to file their own court challenge against President Donald Trump's order.

[kscarbel2]

Once more, people domestically and abroad are criticizing the US over refugees, this time now that Trump has shut off the flow of citizens from 7 seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for a mere 90 days, and suspends the admission of all refugees for a mere 120 days.

Why? When things fell apart in Syria, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) refused to take in refugees. We'll throw some money into the pot, they said, but we don't want them living with us. So much for helping out their Muslim neighbors in a time of need. 

Observe the "tent cities" in Saudi Arabia, perfect for providing 3 million beds for their Muslim neighbors in their time of need, rather than risk the dangers of a night boat ride across the Mediterranean to Europe. (http://www.sbs.com.au/news/gallery/which-arab-country-has-room-three-million-refugees-and-has-so-far-taken-zero-according-un)

Syria was/is a Middle East matter, and not a North American or Western European matter. Rather than lead by example, the wealthy Arab League country's dumped the problem on the west......as usual. It gets old after a while.

If the wealthy GCC countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia don't want their own people, why do we?

Every time I see the picture of the unnecessarily drowned child face down on the beach, I am indescribably sad and angered that the Arab League/GCC didn't for once live up to its mandate. Clearly, their ethics, morals and values are not compatible with that of America.

We can't afford to be the world's policeman anymore. When things are humming normally, the world slams the US for trying to impose US standards on their country......and often rightly so ("When in Rome......."). But when they need us, they "expect" us to automatically come running. Two faces, depending on which way the wind is blowing (e.g. Israel, Philippines, Malaysia, ect.). Now, we'll mind our own business, and leave them to theirs.

http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/41658-critics-push-us-to-help-europe-by-taking-more-refugees/?page=2#comment-345646

 

[kscarbel2]

I have no problem with the gist of Trump’s executive order, PROTECTING THE NATION FROM FOREIGN TERRORIST ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/trump_executive_order_refugee_curbs.pdf)

It states: 

“Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, including foreign nationals who entered the United States after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas, or who entered through the United States refugee resettlement program.”

Trump's executive order bars citizens of 7 Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for a mere 90 days, and suspends the admission of all refugees for a mere 120 days.

Those 7 Muslim countries are: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Interestingly, not a single American was killed on U.S. soil by citizens from these 7 countries between 1975 and 2015.

My friends, what’s wrong with this picture?

Why isn’t Saudi Arabia on the list?  15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were citizens of........Saudi Arabia. What country has allegedly been funding ISIS? How could Trump possibly omit Saudi Arabia from the list? Saudi Arabian citizens killed 2,369 Americans between 1975 and 2015.

Why isn’t Afghanistan on the list, the playground for both Al Qaeda and now also ISIS?

Why isn’t Pakistan on the list, the home and protector of Bin Laden?

Why isn’t Egypt on the list, a now lawless Muslim country in chaos? Egyptian citizens killed 162 Americans between 1975 and 2015.

Why isn't the United Arab Emirates on the list? UAE citizens killed 314 Americans between 1975 and 2015. Home to 2 of the September 11 hijackers, the U.S. State Dept. website says a widespread presence of ISIS and Al Qaeda- affiliated groups persists in the UAE poses a serious threat to American citizens.

Ms. Conway, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Egypt have no history in "training, harboring and exporting terrorists" ???

When asked why these 4 countries are not on the list, Kellyanne Conway has the audacity to blame Obama. Excuse me? President Trump is now on the bridge. This is a “Trump Administration” executive order.  

Note this video from 2:20:

.

 

[HeavyGunner]

No excuses or blaming the previous admin. Make it happen that's why trump was voted in. 

[kscarbel2]

Starbucks to hire 10,000 refugees over next 5 years

Associated Press  /  January 30, 2017

Starbucks says it will hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years, a response to President Donald Trump's suspension of Syrian refugees and temporary travel bans that apply to six other Muslim-majority nations.

Howard Schultz, the coffee retailer's chairman and CEO, said in a letter to employees Sunday that the hiring would apply to stores worldwide and the effort would start in the United States where the focus would be on hiring immigrants "who have served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel."

"We are living in an unprecedented time, one in which we are witness to the conscience of our country, and the promise of the American Dream, being called into question," CEO Howard Schultz wrote in his letter to Starbucks employees.

Schultz, a supporter of Hillary Clinton during the presidential run, took aim at other parts of a Trump agenda focused on immigration, repealing former President Barack Obama's health care law and restructuring trade with Mexico.

The letter said that Starbucks would help support coffee growers in Mexico, provide health insurance to eligible workers if the health care law is repealed and back an Obama-era immigration program that allows young [illegal] immigrants who were brought to the country as children to apply for a two-year reprieve from deportation and a work permit.

Schultz added that Starbucks would aim to communicate with workers more frequently, saying Sunday, "I am hearing the alarm you all are sounding that the civility and human rights we have all taken for granted for so long are under attack."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amazon pledges legal support to action against Trump travel ban

The Guardian  /  January 31, 2017

CEO Jeff Bezos says company’s legal and lobbying teams will help fight the ban, echoing moves by Expedia and Microsoft

Amazon chief executive, Jeff Bezos, has pledged the full legal resources of his company to fight the travel ban instituted by Donald Trump against seven Islamic nations.

In an email to employees sent on Monday afternoon, Bezos said that Amazon would be putting its legal and lobbying efforts behind the fight against the ban.

A key avenue of opposition involves supporting the attorney general for Washington state, where Amazon is headquartered, in his lawsuit against Trump – the first confirmed legal action from a state against one of the new administration’s policies.

In an excerpt from Bezos’s email published by Recode, the Amazon head details some of the company’s intended actions: “We reached out to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to explore legislative options. Our legal team has prepared a declaration of support for the Washington state attorney general who will be filing suit against the order. We are working other legal options as well.”

Bezos’s statement to Amazon employees is the second from Amazon since Trump’s ban was announced. On Saturday, the company released a less forceful statement declaring that “from the very beginning, Amazon has been committed to equal rights, tolerance and diversity – and we always will be.”

Since Amazon announced its action, other Washington-based companies have also announced their support for the state’s action. Travel service Expedia, whose chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, is an Iranian immigrant, has signed on backing the action, according to attorney general Bob Ferguson.

On Sunday, Khosrowshahi told employees “The president’s order represents the worst of his proclivity toward rash action versus thoughtfulness. Ours is a nation of immigrants. These are our roots, this is our soul. All erased with the stroke of a pen.”

Reuters reports that Microsoft is also working with the state, providing information about the order’s impact “in order to be supportive,” according to a spokesperson, who added “we’d be happy to testify further if needed.” Previously, Microsoft’s statements had been limited to expressing “concerns about the impact of the executive order on our employees”.

[kscarbel2]

.

 

[kscarbel2]

Los Angeles Times  /  January 30, 2017

The Pentagon is compiling a list of Iraqi citizens who have worked with the U.S. military and is recommending that they be exempt from President Trump’s temporary ban on entry to the U.S. by people from Iraq and six other predominantly Muslim countries, according to the U.S. military.

The move could potentially shield tens of thousands of Iraqi interpreters, advisors, and others who have assisted the American military from the president’s controversial executive action that blocked visitors from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Monday that the list will include names of individuals who have “demonstrated their commitment” to helping the United States.

“Even people that are doing seemingly benign things in support of us — whether as a linguist, a driver, anything else — they often do that at great personal risk,” he said. “So people who take these risks are really making a tangible signal of support to the United States, and that’s something that will, and should be, recognized."

Trump, who signed the order at the Pentagon on Friday, did not consult Defense Secretary James N. Mattis or Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the temporary suspensions of entry to visitors from the seven nations, according to U.S. officials.

[kscarbel2]

The irony of it all.................

Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was fired for refusing to support an order from the president that she felt was improper.

Yates is "acting" Attorney General because Trump's pick, Jeff Sessions, has not yet been confirmed.

Now, let's revisit year 2015. Jeff Sessions is questioning Yates at her confirmation hearing for Deputy Attorney General, and telling her it is her duty to refuse an order from the president that she feels is improper. What was the right thing to do in 2015 is the wrong thing in 2017.

"I hope that you'd be willing to say no" ........Jeff Sessions

.

 

[kscarbel2]

A valid strategy (if the list included Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt and UAE) executed so poorly is now descending into chaos. Many a good idea didn't get airborne because it was poorly introduced. Execution is everything. If you introduced it in the right way, everybody would accept it without event.

Many here think a lot of Trump. The question is, how could an allegedly sharp individual with an equally sharp team introduce a reasonable concept in such a flawed way that it would backfire so badly? You would assume the opposite scenario, in which they would be the architects of the skillfully planned execution. Thus, it is challenging to believe that this is all accidental. Why would he repeatedly shoot himself in the foot in his tweets? And why "tweet" when he can send out a more saleable professional presidential announcement at will? As usual, we only know a fraction of the story..............even though these are our alleged employees who, inherently, should keep no secrets from the American people.

On Monday, President Trump in a tweet described his executive order as a "ban". On Tuesday, Sean Spicer said it wasn't a "ban", as did Homeland Security Director John Kelly. But if the boss uses the word "ban"..............

When a conservative republican state like Virginia turns against the president, things are getting bad.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Associated Press  /  January 31, 2017

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Tuesday that the state is bringing legal action against President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.

"This is not the United States of America we know," McAuliffe said.

Herring said the order is "unlawful, unconstitutional and un-American and action is required."

The Commonwealth is joining a pending case, Aziz v. Trump et al., in the U.S. District Court of Eastern District of Virginia.

Virginia's motion to intervene can be read here. The Commonwealth's legal brief can be read here. 

The New York Times reports Tareq Aqel Mohammed Aziz, 21, and his brother Ammar, 19, landed at Dulles International Airport Saturday morning and were connecting to Flint, Michigan, to join their father, a U.S. citizen. The Yemeni brothers were taken off the plane, put into handcuffs and told their visas had been canceled. They were sent on a plane back to Ethiopia, the Times reports.

The two had immigrant visas, meaning they were approved for legal permanent residency, because their father is a U.S. citizen, according to the Times. 

Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, legal director of the Immigrant Advocacy Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center filed a petition on behalf of them and the other 60 or so people detained at the airport.

Trump's order banning entry to the United States for individuals from certain countries, even those who are lawful permanent residents or entering the United States on valid work or student visas, is degrading and unlawful treatment, Herring said.

"The Commonwealth has substantial interests justifying its intervention, and make no mistake, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and our people, are already being harmed by this Executive Order," Herring said.

Herring said students and faculty of Virginia colleges are unable to leave and some are unable to return to the States.

The order will hamper schools' ability to retract and retain foreign students in the future, prevent students and faculty members from traveling abroad, may affect research and grant projects and hurt tuition revenue, Herring said.

"This is not theoretical," Herring said. "It's happening as we speak. 

"We've got 100 students at Virginia Commonwealth University unable to leave to see families or come back – and there's identical stories across all campuses."

The Commonwealth's intervention and participation in the suit is being handled by Virginia Solicitor General Stuart Raphael and his team.

McAuliffe and Herring were at Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia this weekend to join protests over the immigration ban.

[david wild]

Why do we need more Muslims???? they don't like us, why do they want to come here ??? they don't like us, are they up to no good by coming here ??? If we are going to do something wrong than let's error to the side that is best for us the residents of this country not some other people from some other country.   

[41chevy]

I always thought it was a privilege to immigrate to any country not a right.

And yet, if the executive order was truly anti Muslim, how come it is only 7 countries and not 46? Maybe cry baby Charles Ellis Schumer could shed some light on that.

FYI, Virginia in no longer a very conservative state, paroled or freed Felons have the right to vote, illegals can get a drivers license and that automatically registers them to vote as Democrats, The Governor also supports sanctuary for illegals. As bad or worse as the state we left.

[kscarbel2]