At Least 30 Refugees Are Blocked from Coming to Oregon by President Trump's Travel Ban

"These are people with flights booked."

By Rachel Monahan
Mohamad Sharif Mohibullah (right) and his family arrived in Oregon in July 2015.

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At least 30 refugees had plane tickets already to resettle in Oregon over the next four weeks, but are being barred from traveling after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday suspending the nation's refugees program for the next four months.

Catholic Charities of Oregon, a resettlement agency, says it had made reservations for the 30 refugees to travel to the state in February.

"These are people with flights booked, and none of those will be coming in," says Catholic Charities spokesman James Howell. "We're obviously disheartened by this."

Most of the people arriving were families and the vast majority were from Somalia and Iraq, Howell tells WW.

Related: Meet the refugees who come to Portland from the most violent places on the planet.

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Rachel Monahan

Rachel Monahan

Rachel Monahan joined Willamette Week in 2016. She covers housing and City Hall.

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