A year ago, President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting travel by citizens of a handful of predominantly Muslim countries. With one of his first acts in office, the president set in motion what would be the first of three attempts to ban some travelers — including refugees — from the United States.
The so-called travel ban spent most of last year in and out of courts where its legality was called into question by immigration advocates who say the ban amounts to a Muslim ban. It still faces the ultimate challenge in the Supreme Court. But in the meantime the nation’s highest court allowed the full ban to go into effect in early December.
Supporters of the travel order see this in a positive light. The president’s stated purpose in the first paragraph of that first executive order was “to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States.” Government lawyers have heatedly defended that policy in the months since.
On the anniversary of the first travel ban order, VOA took a look back at the impact it has had on some who hoped to come to the U.S., and those already here.
Click on the images below to read the stories.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
…
