3rd travel ban has grave consequences for MN Somalis

President Trump in August
Under President Trump's new order, Minnesota Somalis won't be able to sponsor their relatives overseas for green cards.
Jim Watson | Getty Images file

Immigration attorneys in Minnesota are preparing for President Trump's third travel ban, the latest of which could affect the state's large Somali population.

The ban, announced Sunday, affects people from Somalia, Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. It's set to take effect Oct. 18, and immigration restrictions vary depending on the country.

On Monday, immigration attorneys across Minnesota were reviewing their client lists to figure out who will be affected by the new travel ban.

One attorney, Marc Prokosch, said 28 of his clients are from affected countries, and the majority of them were in the process of sponsoring family members from Somalia. Under the new travel ban, families won't be able to sponsor relatives from Somalia for green cards.

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Prokosch said most of his clients won't be able to enter the U.S. before the ban takes effect — the lone exception is an 11-year-old boy who just got his visa and is set to arrive here before Oct. 18.

Immigration lawyers say despite the addition of North Korea and Venezuela, they still consider the proclamation a ban on Muslims.

"I'm assuming that at some point, somebody is going to challenge this in federal court," Prokosch said. "We may end up having some or all, or maybe just a single person challenge this in federal court the way that the previous travel bans were challenged in federal court."

Trump's latest travel ban makes clear that people who already hold green cards may enter, and it also lists the types of visas that will be banned from each country.

For example, it's a blanket ban on people from Syria, Somalia and North Korea. But some of those from Libya and Yemen can enter the country, depending on the type of visa they hold.

For Venezuela, government officials and their families aren't allowed to enter the United States, but others can.

Some immigration lawyers are trying to speed up the green card sponsorship process. But because it's a long and drawn-out process to begin with, it's unlikely many people will be able to beat the Oct. 18 deadline.

Editor's note (Sept. 26, 2017): An earlier version of this story included a piece of audio that was unclear on whether one person the reporter talked about would be affected by the latest iteration of the travel ban. The audio has been removed.