Despite two appellatte courts blocking President Donald Trump's travel moratorium, Homeland Security reports a steep decline in visits by citizens from those Muslim-majority countries.
Through April, the number of people admitted from the six affected countries was down by about half compared to the same period last year. The number of those seeking U.S. visas also fell off.
“We were expecting 110,000 this year, and to suddenly go from 110 to 50,000, and now it may not even be 50,000,” says Lubna Zeidan, director of the Interfaith Action of Central Texas.
“A lot of people who have other family members in Europe or Australia have been asking is there a way they could go there instead of being here,” she says.
The biggest drop came from Somalia, more than two-thirds lower than 2016. Iran continues to send most people of the six countries affected by the travel moratorium.
“We had a certain rhythm going until the travel ban and then it slowed, then it trickled and stopped and picked up again,” says Zeidan.