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| Trump travel crackdown turns 'wedding celebration into a family separation' | Trump travel crackdown turns 'wedding celebration into a family separation' |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| On Saturday evening, on a pier overlooking the Baltimore harbor, Sanaz Karbasi and Mark Hemphill will celebrate their wedding in a ceremony imbued with their respective cultures. In homage to Karbasi’s native Iran, there will be a Persian marriage table laden with symbols of happiness and health, and after the exchange of vows and a kiss, the couple will put honey into each other’s mouths to engender eternal sweetness. | On Saturday evening, on a pier overlooking the Baltimore harbor, Sanaz Karbasi and Mark Hemphill will celebrate their wedding in a ceremony imbued with their respective cultures. In homage to Karbasi’s native Iran, there will be a Persian marriage table laden with symbols of happiness and health, and after the exchange of vows and a kiss, the couple will put honey into each other’s mouths to engender eternal sweetness. |
| On Hemphill’s side, his North Carolina upbringing will be brought to bear in the form of dancing. “The most American thing about the wedding will be people acting foolish to hip-hop,” he said. | On Hemphill’s side, his North Carolina upbringing will be brought to bear in the form of dancing. “The most American thing about the wedding will be people acting foolish to hip-hop,” he said. |
| Amid the festivities, however, there will also be sadness, as the mother and sister of the bride will be absent. But not for want of trying. For months they have been planning their trip from Tehran to the US to attend an occasion they would not miss for the world. “This is my biggest dream since I was five years old,” said Elnaz Karbasi, “to be at my little sister’s wedding.” | Amid the festivities, however, there will also be sadness, as the mother and sister of the bride will be absent. But not for want of trying. For months they have been planning their trip from Tehran to the US to attend an occasion they would not miss for the world. “This is my biggest dream since I was five years old,” said Elnaz Karbasi, “to be at my little sister’s wedding.” |
| If Elnaz and the bride’s mother, Soghra Nikpour, will not be present, by contrast, someone who has not been invited will be very much in attendance, looming over the proceedings. Donald Trump, and his ambition to ban all Muslims from entering the country, will be the unwelcome guest that fills the void. | If Elnaz and the bride’s mother, Soghra Nikpour, will not be present, by contrast, someone who has not been invited will be very much in attendance, looming over the proceedings. Donald Trump, and his ambition to ban all Muslims from entering the country, will be the unwelcome guest that fills the void. |
| Trump announced his desire to impose a ban on all Muslims traveling to the US while he was campaigning for the presidency in 2015. Once in office, he tightened the policy to a prohibition on seven majority-Muslim nations, Iran among them, before even that narrower intention was blocked by federal courts on grounds of religious discrimination. | Trump announced his desire to impose a ban on all Muslims traveling to the US while he was campaigning for the presidency in 2015. Once in office, he tightened the policy to a prohibition on seven majority-Muslim nations, Iran among them, before even that narrower intention was blocked by federal courts on grounds of religious discrimination. |
| Technically, the court injunction means there is no travel ban in place and there will be none unless and until Trump succeeds in appealing his executive order to the supreme court. But that is not how it feels to Karbasi and Hemphill as they approach their wedding day, nor to Elnaz and Nikpour, lamenting their absence 6,000 miles away. | Technically, the court injunction means there is no travel ban in place and there will be none unless and until Trump succeeds in appealing his executive order to the supreme court. But that is not how it feels to Karbasi and Hemphill as they approach their wedding day, nor to Elnaz and Nikpour, lamenting their absence 6,000 miles away. |
| “I am indignant, enraged,” Hemphill said. “When Trump was elected, I thought he would be an abject disaster, but I didn’t realize it was going to be my disaster.” | “I am indignant, enraged,” Hemphill said. “When Trump was elected, I thought he would be an abject disaster, but I didn’t realize it was going to be my disaster.” |
| When Trump was elected I thought he would be an abject disaster, but I didn’t realize it was going to be my disaster | When Trump was elected I thought he would be an abject disaster, but I didn’t realize it was going to be my disaster |
| Hemphill, 28, and Karbasi, 29, met in Savannah, Georgia, five years ago while they were both attending a graduate course at the college of art and design. They now work together as industrial designers at a Baltimore firm. | Hemphill, 28, and Karbasi, 29, met in Savannah, Georgia, five years ago while they were both attending a graduate course at the college of art and design. They now work together as industrial designers at a Baltimore firm. |
| They were officially married in December 2015 but, as is customary in Iran, decided to hold the main wedding celebration later. A year ago they set the date of the party, 15 April 2017, and straight away Karbasi’s mother and sister set to work securing a visa that would allow them to attend. | They were officially married in December 2015 but, as is customary in Iran, decided to hold the main wedding celebration later. A year ago they set the date of the party, 15 April 2017, and straight away Karbasi’s mother and sister set to work securing a visa that would allow them to attend. |
| Nikpour, 59 and a widow, was a professor of nursing and midwifery at the University of Tehran and is now studying for her second PhD. She has visited her daughter in the US every year for the past four years without incident. She put in her visa application with the US consulate in Dubai (there is no US embassy in Iran given the history of hostility between the two nations) as early as last summer. | Nikpour, 59 and a widow, was a professor of nursing and midwifery at the University of Tehran and is now studying for her second PhD. She has visited her daughter in the US every year for the past four years without incident. She put in her visa application with the US consulate in Dubai (there is no US embassy in Iran given the history of hostility between the two nations) as early as last summer. |
| By December, still four months before the big day, she had been interviewed and cleared to visit, and she only lacked an FBI background check, which she was assured would take no longer than a month. Given the positive feedback, she bought a return flight to the US. | By December, still four months before the big day, she had been interviewed and cleared to visit, and she only lacked an FBI background check, which she was assured would take no longer than a month. Given the positive feedback, she bought a return flight to the US. |
| Karbasi’s sister applied a little later but still allowed for ample time and was relaxed about her prospects after she was given an interview date at the Dubai consulate for 8 February. “It was all in plenty of time, I was confident everything was going to be fine,” Sanaz said. “And then it happened – Trump said no one can come from Iran to the US.” | Karbasi’s sister applied a little later but still allowed for ample time and was relaxed about her prospects after she was given an interview date at the Dubai consulate for 8 February. “It was all in plenty of time, I was confident everything was going to be fine,” Sanaz said. “And then it happened – Trump said no one can come from Iran to the US.” |
| The first travel ban, signed by Trump on 27 January, struck the family like a thunderbolt. Elnaz Karbasi was told her visa interview had been cancelled as a result of the ban. Nikpour was so despairing about Trump’s action that she cancelled her flights. “Looks like I’m not going to be at your wedding,” she told her daughter. | The first travel ban, signed by Trump on 27 January, struck the family like a thunderbolt. Elnaz Karbasi was told her visa interview had been cancelled as a result of the ban. Nikpour was so despairing about Trump’s action that she cancelled her flights. “Looks like I’m not going to be at your wedding,” she told her daughter. |
| Even Sanaz’s brother, Amin Karbasi, a professor at Yale University specialising in artificial intelligence, was hit by the ban. His wife, a green card holder, and one-year-old child were visiting family in Tehran when the ban came down and were essentially banished from returning to their own home. | |
| “It was a devastating moment for all of us,” Sanaz recalled. “I was crying because my mom was not going to be at my wedding, my sister was crying because she was not going to be at my wedding, my brother was crying because he did not know whether his wife and child would be allowed to return; it was bad, bad.” | “It was a devastating moment for all of us,” Sanaz recalled. “I was crying because my mom was not going to be at my wedding, my sister was crying because she was not going to be at my wedding, my brother was crying because he did not know whether his wife and child would be allowed to return; it was bad, bad.” |
| My brother was crying because he did not know whether his wife and child would be allowed to return; it was bad, bad | My brother was crying because he did not know whether his wife and child would be allowed to return; it was bad, bad |
| Instead of giving in, however, the family rallied and went into hyper-drive in an attempt to secure those elusive visas. Hemphill waged a one-person battle against the US bureaucracy, contacting the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the state department, and enlisting the support of his local member of Congress. | Instead of giving in, however, the family rallied and went into hyper-drive in an attempt to secure those elusive visas. Hemphill waged a one-person battle against the US bureaucracy, contacting the Department of Homeland Security, US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the state department, and enlisting the support of his local member of Congress. |
| “I even spoke to the FBI about security clearance. The person on the phone was nice enough, but she told me they had no record of anyone named Soghra Nikpour on the system,” he said. | “I even spoke to the FBI about security clearance. The person on the phone was nice enough, but she told me they had no record of anyone named Soghra Nikpour on the system,” he said. |
| Karbasi’s sister was even more frantically active. When a federal judge in Seattle blocked the first travel ban on 3 February, five days before her aborted Dubai interview, she asked the US consulate to reopen the appointment only to be told that she had to start over at the back of the line. | Karbasi’s sister was even more frantically active. When a federal judge in Seattle blocked the first travel ban on 3 February, five days before her aborted Dubai interview, she asked the US consulate to reopen the appointment only to be told that she had to start over at the back of the line. |
| She began calling Dubai three times a day, every day, only to be repeatedly informed that no new interview slots were available and the waiting list was closed. After a month she grew fed up of endless phone calls. | She began calling Dubai three times a day, every day, only to be repeatedly informed that no new interview slots were available and the waiting list was closed. After a month she grew fed up of endless phone calls. |
| At a cost of $1,400, she and her husband flew to Dubai and went straight to the US consulate. “We got to the door of the consulate and they told us that we weren’t allowed in because we didn’t have an appointment,” Karbasi’s sister said. “They gave me a number to call and I said, ‘I’ve been calling that number three times a day for the past month.’ I cried and I pleaded for them to let me in so I could explain in person that I only wanted to go to my sister’s wedding, but still they wouldn’t.” | |
| The nadir came when Karbasi’s sister was told by a consulate worker what she had long been suspecting. He said: “If you were Spanish you could get an appointment in two days, but for Iranians appointments are closed.” | The nadir came when Karbasi’s sister was told by a consulate worker what she had long been suspecting. He said: “If you were Spanish you could get an appointment in two days, but for Iranians appointments are closed.” |
| Though the story of Karbasi and Hemphill’s wedding is anecdotal, it chimes with the wider experiences of many other would-be visitors to the US who have been ensnared in what has the appearance of an unofficial visa slowdown. Last month, a three-day summit on business ties between the US and Africa in Los Angeles was disrupted after 60 people were denied entry. | Though the story of Karbasi and Hemphill’s wedding is anecdotal, it chimes with the wider experiences of many other would-be visitors to the US who have been ensnared in what has the appearance of an unofficial visa slowdown. Last month, a three-day summit on business ties between the US and Africa in Los Angeles was disrupted after 60 people were denied entry. |
| The concern is that the government is instituting what’s practically speaking a ban | The concern is that the government is instituting what’s practically speaking a ban |
| There have also been a plethora of reports of people being detained at airports and questioned about their Muslim faith, including the son of the late boxer Muhammad Ali. | There have also been a plethora of reports of people being detained at airports and questioned about their Muslim faith, including the son of the late boxer Muhammad Ali. |
| An ACLU attorney, Manar Waheed, said that there were growing signs of the Trump administration using the case-by-case discretion of DHS officials to carry out a Muslim ban in all but name, despite the injunction on such a blanket exclusion imposed by federal courts. | An ACLU attorney, Manar Waheed, said that there were growing signs of the Trump administration using the case-by-case discretion of DHS officials to carry out a Muslim ban in all but name, despite the injunction on such a blanket exclusion imposed by federal courts. |
| “The concern is that the government is instituting what’s practically speaking a ban that makes it very difficult for people in the US from other countries to go about their daily lives.” | “The concern is that the government is instituting what’s practically speaking a ban that makes it very difficult for people in the US from other countries to go about their daily lives.” |
| Waheed added that the difficulties experienced by the Karbasi family were particularly heartbreaking but may not be an isolated experience. “This is a wedding, a celebratory event. Instead, a family celebration has been turned into family separation.” | Waheed added that the difficulties experienced by the Karbasi family were particularly heartbreaking but may not be an isolated experience. “This is a wedding, a celebratory event. Instead, a family celebration has been turned into family separation.” |
| A state department official denied that there was any attempt to circumvent the court injunction, insisting that visas were being processed normally for the nationals of those countries included in the suspended travel ban. “The visa application process for Iranians has not changed,” the official said. | A state department official denied that there was any attempt to circumvent the court injunction, insisting that visas were being processed normally for the nationals of those countries included in the suspended travel ban. “The visa application process for Iranians has not changed,” the official said. |
| That is no comfort to Karbasi, who is steeling herself for a wedding celebration without her mother and sister. With just a few days to go before her special day, Karbasi said she wakes up every morning wondering what is she doing here. “Why am I living here? I brought money to this country, I pay my taxes, yet I’m treated with no respect. I’ve told Mark if he was not here, I would be gone. Let’s go somewhere where we are wanted.” | That is no comfort to Karbasi, who is steeling herself for a wedding celebration without her mother and sister. With just a few days to go before her special day, Karbasi said she wakes up every morning wondering what is she doing here. “Why am I living here? I brought money to this country, I pay my taxes, yet I’m treated with no respect. I’ve told Mark if he was not here, I would be gone. Let’s go somewhere where we are wanted.” |
| To add salt to the wound, a colleague who is an avid Trump supporter tried to console her with a gift of fine tea. “Don’t think I’m heartless,” the female colleague told Karbasi. “It’s just that I never thought something like this could affect someone like you.” | To add salt to the wound, a colleague who is an avid Trump supporter tried to console her with a gift of fine tea. “Don’t think I’m heartless,” the female colleague told Karbasi. “It’s just that I never thought something like this could affect someone like you.” |
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