Local Law Offices Deluged With Questions in Wake of Immigration Ban

Local immigration attorneys are getting flooded with phone calls in the wake of President Trump's executive order banning immigration from seven countries with alleged ties to terrorism.  Even long-time residents are calling with concerns about their legal status.

For the next three months, citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are barred from entering the United States.  

But, immigration attorney Richard Herman says he's even been getting calls of concern from clients who aren't from those countries.  As a result, there's one piece of advice he's giving almost everyone who contacts him.

"The first thing I'm telling folks," he says, "is not to travel outside the country for the time being --- particularly those from the seven countries."

Veteran immigration lawyer Margaret Wong says the e-mails and phone calls coming into her firm have tripled in the past few days, and that's not a good thing.

"I've been doing this for forty years," she says,  "so all my old clients, new clients, people in the process of becoming citizens, people who are traveling, who say 'Should I come back?  Should I go to the airport?'  It's really horrible.  The phone doesn't stop ringing.

Wong feels the ban was implemented without proper vetting by the agencies that must carry it out..  She believes things will settle down in a few weeks.