Disappointed Once-Disappointed Twice, Yemenis Banned under Trump now feel deceived under Biden

posted on: Mar 24, 2021

By: John Mason/ Arab America Contributing Writer

Of all the Arabs and non-Arab Muslims blocked from the U.S. by the Trump Muslim Ban, Yemenis have been hit harder than most. Yemenis, whose country has been torn by war and disease, continue to be delayed entry to the U.S. even after Biden lifted the ban. Here, we review the impact of the Ban’s removal.

Trump Muslim Ban shattered dreams of many

It was bad enough that the Trump Muslim ban in 2017 left hundreds of Yemeni winners of the diversity lottery stranded. They were not alone, however, since thousands of other Arabs and non-Muslim Arabs were also stranded around the world. They were all ready to travel to the U.S. but instead were left without help, money, much less answers to when they might be welcomed back into the country they had so longed to enter.

The banned lottery recipients were to be represented, according to Huff Post, “in a federal lawsuit challenging the State Department’s refusal to process visa applications for winners of the U.S. Diversity Visa Program lottery who hail from the six countries covered by President Trump’s Muslim Ban.”  

The disappointed lottery winners, including Yemenis, had been through a rigorous application process, including an interview to determine education status, at least two years of qualifying work experience, and a raft of other required documents for themselves and family members. It was reported that many of the Yemeni winners had gone the distance in readying themselves to leave for the U.S.—they left their jobs, “sold their homes, cars businesses and even the jewelry of their mothers or their wives” to afford the trip.

An additional problem, because the U.S. Embassy in Yemen had been closed due to the Saudi-sponsored and U.S.-supported war, the Yemeni lottery winners had had to cross the dangerous Bab al-Mandeb waters on the Red Sea to reach the Embassy in Djibouti in Africa for their interviews. Unfortunately, in July 2017, the winners received an email from the U.S. government stating, “it is plausible that your case will not be issuable” due to the travel ban.

Yemeni winners thus became losers. Some were en route to the U.S. and had run out of money to live on, much less to return to Yemen. Besides, returning to Yemen was a risk, given the civil war conditions, including a Cholera outbreak and a disastrous humanitarian crisis. As a result of the lawsuit filed against the State Department challenging its refusal to process their visa applications, per Huff Post, “the world will learn of their broken promise to the American dream for all the countries affected by the Muslim Ban.” Whether the lottery winners get the judicial relief they are entitled to remains to be seen.

Biden reversal of Trump Muslim Ban seriously stalled, disappointing Yemenis once again

Those families who were affected by the Trump Muslim Ban report that their entry into the U.S. is still stalled. Furthermore, they note that they have been given little information that clarifies their situation. An Arab American citizen of Yemeni origin, for example, according to an Al-Jazeera story, has awaited his wife and child for five years. He reported he had “spent most of January 20, Joe Biden’s first day as United States president glued to news reports and social media,” only to find that, while Biden had overturned the ban, the man’s wife’s application to join him in Dearborn, Michigan was still in limbo.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib from Michigan has been especially focused on Yemeni families in her district, some of whom have been separated from their kinsmen for years. While welcoming Biden’s reversal of the Ban policy, she regretted the delay, noting, “For so many of my residents, especially those who have family members in Yemen and other countries – they have been separated for years.” Immigration advocates suggest it will take time to sort through the humanitarian effects of the earlier policies.

Yemeni immigrants have been especially hard hit because of the disastrous civil war inflicted on them in 2014. U.S. officials indicate that more than 10,000 Yemenis have been restricted from coming to the U.S. because of the ban. The absence of a U.S. Embassy in Yemen as of 2015, mentioned earlier, has also been a deterrent. This situation left Yeminis stranded in Djibouti and in other countries or stuck in Yemen. Reports to Al-Jazeera suggest that it may “take one to two years before what Trump has done to the immigration system is undone.”

Hope remains, though mixed with uncertainty

So far, the best we can report is that following the lifting of the travel ban, hope remains, but mixed with uncertainty. For many Yeminis in particular, the green card lottery offered them according to Associated Press, “a chance to escape [their] war-torn homeland of Yemen and pursue [their] dreams in the United States.” These are people who have begged and borrowed to fund their fairly-won trips to the U.S. Winners were then told that their applications were ‘Cancelled without Prejudice.’

Even with the Ban’s repeal, many Arabs and non-Arab Muslims have had “dreams broken, families separated, savings used up and milestones missed, from births to graduations. And for some, there are worries about whether their opportunities may be gone forever.” In total, over 40,000 Arabs and Muslims from non-Arab countries were refused visas, not only winners of the lottery, but numbers of people wanting to visit families, to study, and do business in the States.

Again, according to the AP, “The ban advanced the narrative that Muslims, Africans and other communities of color do not belong in America, that we are dangerous threats,” said Mary Bauer, legal director of Muslim Advocates. “Ending the ban was just the first step towards changing that narrative. Next, the Biden administration must clear away other administrative immigration obstacles that are preventing families from reuniting.” Biden has averred that he wants to turn around the mess made by the former administration.

Let’s hope Biden can cut through the red tape keeping Arabs and others out, while at the same time sensibly accounting for COVID 19 issues involved in immigration. These people are due to the moral and ethical choice initially presented to them by the lottery. Since they won ‘the bet,’ let’s finally let them call in their chips.

Join them today in New York at 12:30 pm for their fervent Press Conference sponsored by the Yemeni American Association, Yemeni American Group, and Bronx Muslim Center.

References