MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (AP) - An Iranian religion professor at Vermont’s Middlebury College who has been doing research in his native country since last summer has returned to Vermont after President Donald Trump’s executive order created uncertainty about his ability to travel to the United States.
Assistant professor of religion Ata Anzali, his wife and 12-year-old daughter are legal permanent residents of the United States. Their 9-year-old daughter is a U.S. citizen.
They had considered staying in Iran until spring, but because of the uncertainty created by the Trump administration’s immigration orders, they decided to return sooner.
They had flight reservations that would have had them arrive in New York just before noon on Sunday, Jan. 29, but they changed their travel plans at the last minute. Anzali told The Associated Press in a telephone interview at the time that he didn’t want his kids to go through a traumatic experience of being detained or deported.
The family flew from Iran to the U.S. on Friday and returned to Middlebury over the weekend, according to the college.
“Public pressure and legal challenges ultimately created a more favorable condition for Ata’s return,” wrote Middlebury College President Laurie Patton in an email to staff and students.
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