Four days after a federal judge in Los Angeles issued an order for the return of an Iranian man who was denied entry at LAX and sent to Dubai as a result of President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, the man is back in Los Angeles.
Ali Khoshbakhti Vayeghan, an Iranian citizen with a valid visa, is the only traveler so far under Trump’s order who has been allowed to return to the U.S. after being sent away, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
Vayeghan arrived early Thursday afternoon at L.A. International Airport, where he was greeted by family members, Mayor Eric Garcetti and a crowd singing "This Land Is Your Land."
Vayeghan was one of an unknown number of foreign travelers detained at LAX starting Friday as a result of the executive order temporarily banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, from entering the United States. Officials have not responded to requests to disclose how many people have been held.