Pentagon Working To Exempt Iraqis, Others Who Aided Military From Trump Immigration Order

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Defense is working to ensure that Iraqis and any other individuals who worked for the Department of Defense and meet "established requirements" are exempt from the travel restrictions under President Trump's executive order signed Friday, the department said.

Specifically, the DoD is seeking exemptions for Iraqis who received immigrant visas under the Special Immigrant Visa Program, Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway said in an emailed statement to Patch.

Galloway said the department is evaluating the need for additional exemptions that are in the interest of national security.

Under the order, nationals from Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Syria are banned from entering the country for 90 days. The order also suspends the entry of refugees for 120 days and indefinitely suspends the entry of Syrian refugees.

Nationals from those countries traveling to the U.S. after the order was signed found themselves detained and facing deportation. Among the detainees was an Iraqi man who had worked for the military in Iraq and had arrived in the U.S. on a special immigrant visa. A lawsuit filed on behalf of the man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, stated that he had been directly targeted for his work with the U.S. government. Darweesh was ultimately released and allowed to enter the country.

"This is the humanity, this is the soul of America," he said to reporters once he left John F. Kennedy airport in New York.

"I'm very happy, really I forget what all I faced, whatever happened to me."

Asked by a reporter what he thought of America, Darweesh replied that "America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world."

The executive order caused confusion and chaos at major U.S. airports. Protesters and lawyers gathered in droves to demand that anyone being detained be released. Several judges ordered emergency stays against parts of the executive order over the weekend.

Since then, at least two other lawsuits have been filed challenging the order.

Image Credit: Photo credit: David B. Gleason via Flickr Commons