Fury over Trump block on refugees
Movie director, top doc & heroes barred
FURY and chaos erupted yesterday after President Donald Trump slammed shut the doors of America to refugees and many Muslim travellers.
An Oscar nominee, a top scientist, and a desperate Syrian family were among those banned from the US under the harsh new immigration regime.
Prime Minister Theresa May came under angry criticism for failing to speak out against the move.
Mr Trump’s executive order closed US borders to refugees for four months and imposed an indefinite ban on anyone fleeing Syria.
In addition, no visitors of any kind from Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are allowed for three months.
Mr Trump said: “We want to ensure we are not admitting the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas.”
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But last night lawyers were preparing legal challenges as the borders were closed even to legitimate travellers with visas and green cards.
One of those caught up in the new rules was Asghar Farhadi, an Iranian movie director nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Film category. There are fears he will be unable to attend the award ceremony in February.
Iranian scientist Seyed Soheil Saeedi Saravi was stopped at the border while on his way to work in cardiovascular medicine at Harvard.
Professor Thomas Michel, his supervisor, said: “This outstanding young scientist has enormous potential to make contributions that will improve our understanding of heart disease and has already been thoroughly vetted.”
A Syrian family of six were also turned away. They had been living in a refugee camp since 2014 and were due to start a new life in Ohio this week.
Danielle Drake, of the refugee resettlement agency US Together, said the ban reminded her of Jewish refugees being turned away from the USA after the Second World War. She added: