A day after a federal judge in Washington state temporarily put the brakes on President Donald Trump’s refugee and immigration ban, whether to travel south of the border remains a complicated question for some.
Speaking with Global News on a condition of anonymity, a green card holder currently residing in Edmonton, is among those feeling uncertain.
“As a Muslim green card holder, it doesn’t really give me a lot of confidence,” she said. “I need to see proof. I need to wait it out.”
The nationwide temporary restraining order against the President’s executive order was granted on Friday.
READ MORE: Enforcement of Trump travel ban suspended by US government
It will stay in place until U.S. District Court senior judge James Robart considers the attorney general’s lawsuit. It hones in on key provisions of the President’s order, citing them as ‘illegal and unconstitutional.’
“I lived in the US for a number of years, so over a decade. I have immediate family living there. I cross all the time,” she told Global News.
Her fear is that she will be unlawfully detained or barred from entering the U.S. if she were to attempt to enter now.
According to Ashwin Sharma, a Jacksonville, Florida-based immigration lawyer, the recent judicial push-back represents a window of opportunity.
“I would advise people that were planning to travel, especially those that have their green cards, that they do enter at this point,” he said.
“We are seeing democracy in action. We are seeing the courts step up to check and balance the executive.”
READ MORE: Canada to offer temporary residency to travelers stranded by U.S.
In a series of tweets Saturday, the President of the United States posted his displeasure with the decision: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”
READ MORE: A third of Americans think Trump’s travel ban will make them more safe: poll
The Trump order would have suspended immigration for citizens for seven majority Muslim nations for 90 days. They include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
It would have suspended the admission of refugees from around the world for 120 days. For Syrian refugees, the order was more sweeping – an indefinite ban.
The State Department on Friday said as many as 60,000 foreigners had their visas canceled.
The department reversed course Saturday, saying they could travel to the U.S. if they had a valid visa.
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