DALLAS (Jan 31): As new US travel rules plunged several large American airports into chaos, lawyers for some travelers who are long-term legal residents said the government had urged them to relinquish their status as a requirement for reentering the country. 

This was among the more curious developments over a weekend in which a Trump administration order restricting entry into America was met with condemnation abroad and furious protests at home. The official US document, Form I-407, “record of abandonment of lawful permanent resident status,” was distributed on several aircraft that landed this weekend at Los Angeles International Airport, said Rachel Odio, an immigration lawyer with pro-bono law firm Public Counsel. Other travelers saw the forms after they had been detained by US Customs and Border Protection employees in the airport, she said.

Public Counsel assisted about 50 travelers detained at LAX since the Trump’s executive order was issued Friday. Several federal courts subsequently temporarily restricted full enforcement of the ban as constitutional challenges move forward. A spokeswoman for the CBP didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

To continue reading,

Sign in to access this Premium article.

Subscription entitlements:

Less than $9 per month
3 Simultaneous logins across all devices
Unlimited access to latest and premium articles
Bonus unlimited access to online articles and virtual newspaper on The Edge Malaysia (single login)
Related Stories

Stay updated with Singapore corporate news stories for FREE

Follow our Telegram | Facebook