One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
More Than 20 Yemeni Refugees Land In Los Angeles After Being Stranded By Travel Ban
(Photo by Matthew Dillon via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
A group of over 20 Yemenis who had been stuck in Djibouti following President Trump's travel ban have finally landed in the United States, arriving at LAX at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. They were greeted by their lawyer, Julie Goldberg, and a small gathering of reporters. According to Goldberg, each one held an immigrant visa, and many are relatives of United States citizens. However, such visas had been revoked by the State Department, leaving her 28 clients stranded in Djibouti. Goldberg went to Djibouti, where she found families had been split up, Reuters reports.
Goldberg told KPCC, "These 28 people were not allowed to pick up their passports (from the U.S. Embassy). I have some families that are pretty devastated. I have a father who had his visa issued, and he got his passport, but his four-year-old child's is still at the embassy. It has created this separation among families."
Yemen was one of seven predominantly Muslim countries caught up in Trump's travel ban, which invalidated the visas of people traveling from those countries to the United States. Yemen has been in the midst of a civil war since 2015, with supporters of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi clashing with Houthi rebels. Thousands have been killed in air strikes, according to the BBC.
Many Yemenis have fled their home country for Djibouti. However, Goldberg said her clients were rapidly running out of money in Djibouti, and could not return to Yemen or "they would be killed."
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
