Beirut International airport halts Trump’s travel ban

Beirut International Airport halted on Sunday a ban imposed on citizens of seven countries traveling to the United States, according to the state-run National News Agency.

 

Airlines at the airport are allowing the citizens from countries previously included in President Donald Trump’s travel ban to be on board of flights headed to the US.

 

This as several Syrian families having official documents that enable them to enter the US departed from the airport heading to the US.

 

A U.S. appeal court late on Saturday denied a request from the  Department of Justice to immediately restore an immigration order from President Donald Trump barring citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries and temporarily banning refugees.

The court ruling dealt a further setback to Trump, who has denounced the judge in the state of Washington who blocked his executive order on Friday. In tweets and comments to reporters, the president has insisted he will get the ban reinstated.

Trump says the 90-day travel ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and a 120-day bar on all refugees, are necessary to protect the United States from Islamist militants. Critics say the measures are unjustified and discriminatory.

The judge's order and the appeal ruling have created what may be a short-lived opportunity for travelers from the seven affected countries to get into the United States while the legal uncertainty continues.


LBCI/REUTERS