‘Huge Relief’: California Immigrants Counting On Biden To End Travel Ban
Speaker 1: 00:00 President elect Joe Biden has pledged to end the Trump administration's travel ban on several Muslim majority nations, including Iran. The impact could be big here in California, home to the largest Iranian community in the country. [inaudible] for Rita Davala Romero spoke with an Iranian American doctor near Fresno. Who's tried for years to bring his father to live with him in March Arman, dairy was consumed with worry. His father. Also a doctor got Corona virus from a patient and Theranos and was hospital Speaker 2: 00:34 He's 81 years old, and that's the biggest risk factor for COVID-19. Speaker 1: 00:38 But Derry lives in Visalia more than 7,000 miles away. That distance compounded his fear. He couldn't just go care for his dad. Speaker 2: 00:48 Uh, that was a very tough time. It was scary Speaker 1: 00:52 Darrell. He and his sister are both naturalized us citizens. Five years ago, they applied for green cards for their parents. Their mothers was approved in 2016, but their fathers got stuck in limbo. After president Donald Trump issued the travel ban doing his first days in office, Speaker 2: 01:09 It's been a burden, a huge burden on our shoulders, on our minds. Yeah, it's been very difficult for all of us. Speaker 1: 01:19 Trump invoked national security to bar travel to the U S for most people from some Muslim majority nations, but critics challenged the ban in court as discriminatory and racist. An amended version didn't go into full effect until December, 2017. After the Supreme court allowed it to move forward. And earlier this year, Trump added more African nation nations for a total of 13. Speaker 2: 01:45 The harm that it has done to the reputation of the country and to the people and communities that's impacted. It is so imaginable. Speaker 1: 01:53 Max Wilson is an attorney with the national immigration law center, which sued to end the travel ban. He says the impact goes way beyond the more than 41,000 visa as the us state department has denied under the ban. Speaker 2: 02:07 Every child that you keep separate from their parent, every person who misses a wedding, and then every person who misses a job opportunity, those don't just hurt the person involved, or they hurt the people that would benefit from being reunited with their family members. They hurt the places that these people would end up working Speaker 1: 02:27 Biden could undo the travel ban just the way Trump started it with an executive order that would trigger a reversal at the state department, customs and border protection and other federal agencies [inaudible] with the American Arab anti-discrimination committee says if Biden ends the travel ban as promised it would signal the start of a new era on how this country treats immigrants, including protecting dreamers and reuniting separated migrant families Speaker 2: 02:56 By overturning the ban, which is the lowest hanging fruit, but he can signal to the communities that you know what I take immigration. Seriously. I take your concern. Seriously. Speaker 1: 03:07 Dr. Arman dairy says getting rid of the ban would lift a weight of his family and many others, and it would help ease the feeling. The travel ban gave him that he wasn't welcome in America. Speaker 2: 03:20 It's going to be a huge relief for people who are affected by this ingest and discriminative act. It means a lot for us. Speaker 1: 03:33 His dad has recovered from COVID now Derry hopes. He can finally come live with him and Visalia. That was KQBD reporter for Rita Davala Romero. Speaker 2: 03:43 Wow.
