ABC News(NEW YORK) — Two Iraqis have been detained at Kennedy International Airport in New York City in the wake of President Trump’s executive order Friday on the suspending the entry into the United States of immigrants from certain Muslim nations and all refugees.
Court records confirm that a writ of habeas corpus was filed for Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq in the Eastern District of New York, where the airport is located, and that Donald Trump has been named as a defendant.
The two men are not technically refugees according to the definition in the president’s executive order but appear to be coming to the U.S. on visas, a Trump administration official tells ABC News. The executive order contains a caveat that allows certain individuals to be admitted to the country if there is a national security interest in doing so, and these two may be eligible for such an exemption, which must be agreed upon by the State and Homeland Security Departments, but the process by which this happens is unclear.
In addition, seven U.S.-bound migrants — six from Iraq and one from Yemen — have been prevented from boarding a flight in Egypt that was bound for Kennedy Airport, The Associated Press reports.
Officials said the seven migrants, escorted by representatives of the United Nations refugee agency, were stopped from boarding the plane after authorities at Cairo’s airport contacted their counterparts at the airport in New York.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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