23 April, 2018
The Supreme Court of the United States is preparing to hear arguments involving President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
The court meets Wednesday to consider whether Trump's 2017 restrictions on travel and immigration from some countries are legal. The measures mostly affect people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. Visitors from North Korea and Venezuela also were affected, but the two countries are not part of the case.
Whatever the high court decides, the restrictions have already shaped the lives of many people.
From Yemen to New York
Radad Alborati came to the United States from Yemen over 20 years ago, when he was a teenager. He became a U.S. citizen in 2010.
Today, Alborati lives in New York City and works at night in a small store. But his wife remains in Yemen. She and her husband have known each other since they were children. For years, he has tried to bring her and their three sons to New York.
Last autumn, when U.S. courts temporarily blocked the travel restrictions, Alborati was able to get visas for his sons. The boys came to New York. But his wife was not permitted to travel with them. The U.S. embassy in Yemen said in a letter that she was not eligible for a visa. And, it said, the decision could not be appealed. In other words, she should not ask again.
Now, the family is waiting to hear what the Supreme Court says. The boys, ages 10 to 16, live with three separate sets of family friends because Alborati worries about them being alone while he works.
Alborati also worries about his wife. She is back in Yemen, where more than 10,000 people have died in fighting over the past three years.
Alborati says he understands that U.S. government policymakers want to keep the country safer. But he says, "Separating families – that is sick."
U.S. policymakers
The president's goal for the travel ban was not to separate families. Trump said he aimed to "keep radical Islamic terrorists out" of the country.
Other people connected to Trump's administration have made similar comments. James Carafano helped the administration in its early days. He is a national se