Dallas

DFW Attorneys Ready To Assist Those Affected By Travel Ban

Local lawyers will be among those watching what happens when the travel ban approved Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court takes effect.

 “We’re ready to help if we need to,” said Dallas attorney Pete Schulte, with the group Lawyers For America.

 “We don’t expect the chaos that we had at the airports in January because the ban has been watered down and the supreme court only allowed a snippet of it to go into effect.” said Schulte.

 The Supreme Court wrote the travel ban “may not be enforced against foreign nationals who have a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

 That means the travel ban cannot be applied to those who have a close relationship with a family member in the U.S., or those who want to come here to study or accept a job offer.

 “What we’re going to be looking for is whether or not Customs and Border Protection are going to abuse that definition try to say well you may have family there but it’s not long enough for our purposes so you’re denied entry,” said Schulte.

 “If that starts happening, we’ll reengage at the airport like we did back in January,” said Schulte.

Protests at DFW International Airport greeted the President’s first travel ban in January, and scores of local attorneys volunteered their time to help affected travelers.

The International Rescue Committee says it is still evaluating how the Court's ruling could affect refugee families scheduled to arrive in Dallas this week and next.

"Families without relationships who’ve been vetted and approved to travel are some of the most vulnerable refugees awaiting travel," the IRC's Daley Ryan said in a written statement.

"This is an unnecessary and inhumane delay for people who are victims of violence and persecution," the Ryan said.

The Court's ruling came on the first weekday after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"If the law is just going to single out Muslims for not allowing them to come into this country, this is a matter of concern, as a citizen of this country not only as a Muslim but as a citizen of this country,” said Suhail Kausar, Dallas Chapter President, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

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