DETROIT – One of President Joe Biden’s first moves in the White House was to repeal former President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from several predominantly Muslim countries.
When Trump enacted the travel ban, thousands of Metro Detroiters protested nearly immediately.
There was anger, fear and frustration in many communities. Initially the ban restricted travel from many Middle Eastern countries. Legal challenges went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Trump won.
Wednesday, Biden repealed the ban.
“There are a lot of people here in Metro Detroit who had family members impacted by this ban,” said Dawud Walid, with the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “We’re hopeful this is showing a pivot from the White House, from the old administration in how it deals with Muslims as a whole.”
Rep. Debbie Dingell said she has lost count of how many families across Michigan reached out to elected officials for help.
“You have no idea how many people have called me crying. These are cases our office with deals with all the time,” Dingell said. “We have to do a much better job understanding what our national security requires, who is our enemy who isn’t our enemy and how we track terrorist groups, no matter where they from.”
More: White House News