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Christopher Gaston: Immigration attorney urges immigrants to return to U.S while travel ban blocked

Posted at 12:05 AM, Feb 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-10 05:39:53-05

The panel of three judges on the United States Circuit Court of Appeals voted unanimously to continue blocking President Donald Trump’s Immigration Order on Thursday.

RELATED: Timeline of the travel ban | Why the ban could survive the courts

The order briefly restricted travel to the United States for immigrants from seven Middle Eastern countries.

Now, citizens from those seven countries will still be able to travel to the United States like they used to before Trump’s executive order in January.

The decision comes as good news to people who protested the executive order.

But, Stuart-based immigration attorney, Christopher Gaston, is still urging those travelers to use caution.

“It’s been very chaotic for people not knowing if the ban is going to be continued or lifted,” Gaston said.

Gaston says he saw how the travel restriction impacted international students and people who traveled internationally for work.

Gaston advised other local attorneys and law offices about how to handle immigration cases when the travel restriction went into place.

That included offering advice to attorneys who went to Palm Beach International Airport to help people who were detained and stuck outside of the United States right after the executive order went into place.

Gaston says this is the time for people outside the United States to act.

“We’re encouraging everyone to get back to the United States. If there’s an ability to get a stronger immigration status, we’re encouraging that as well,” Gaston said.

He’s also urging those travelers already in the United States to consider waiting a little longer to resume their normal travel plans.

President Trump could still appeal to the Supreme Court, which could continue to block the restrictions, or decide the immigration order is legal.

“We’re consistency advising our clients to avoid all non-essential travel outside the United States,” Gaston said.