Congressman Zeldin and His Team Work to Push for the Release of Stony Brook Student Detainee at JKF
Congressman Lee Zeldin and his staff have been working overtime to assist Stony Brook University graduate student, Vahideh Rasekhi through her detainment process. As of yesterday, the Congressman, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was confident that Rasekhi would be released today. The Stony Brook student had been been detained at JFK Airport on her way home from a visit to Iran.
“My office and I have been directly involved in the case regarding the Stony Brook University graduate who is being detained at JFK Airport after returning to the United States from a visit to Iran. We have received confirmation that she should be released this afternoon. We will continue to monitor this situation closely to ensure that she is released.” – Congressman Lee Zeldin
Rasekhi was among the 109 people across the Country to be detained on Saturday after President Trump’s Executive Order. Many questions and unfortunate false claims were made over the weekend, by those who have used celebrity prowess and stature in the journalism profession to influence public opinion. Out of 325,000 international travelers, Less than 1% (109 people) were detained by the temporary travel ban, on the day it was enacted. Many members of Congress, including our district representative, are optimistic that those travelers with green cards or permanent residents will not be adversely impacted going forward.
“Every American has sympathy for the innocent person who is looking to come to America for a better life, but the process must without exception prioritize America’s national security first. We cannot allow someone entry until we know for sure they will not pose a risk. The ultimate humanitarian victory is to assist with efforts to stabilize these nations and eliminate the threats there to peace. With all that being said, I will be closely monitoring the execution of this Executive Order to make sure that any misapplication is corrected immediately.” – Congressman Lee Zeldin
Temporary Travel Ban – Just the Facts
- Citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen will not be allowed to travel to the U.S. for the next 90 days.
- Admission of Refugees will also be temporarily suspended for the next 120 days.
- Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may issue visas or other immigration benefits to nationals of countries for which visas and benefits are otherwise blocked. This will be done on a case-by-case basis, when in the national interest.
- People with lawful permanent residence (green card holders) will not be negatively affected. Waivers will be granted on a case-by-case basis, as long as there is no evidence of a person presenting a serious threat to public safety.
- Officials have been ordered to “prioritize” those people suffering from religious-based persecution
History Always Repeats Itself
Between the years of 1892 to 1954 approximately 20% of the twelve million Immigrants who traveled to Ellis Island were detained for legal and medical reasons. While some were lucky and only had to spend a night in the Ferry Building, others were detained much longer. Over 120,000 immigrants were forced to return to their Countries for reasons like illness, deafness and dumbness (for children mostly), disease, disability and mental impairment. During WWI, many American citizens demanded the ban on allowing immigration to continue to the US. Even after a Century of progress, in 2011 President Obama suspended the US from allowing Iraqi Refugees into the Country for six months, in the interest of National Security.