This was a reunion 12 years in the making.
Ali Vayeghan was set to fly from Tehran to Los Angeles, make his way to Indiana, and after a years-long wait, see his son, a U.S. citizen. He was also reuniting with his wife, who arrived in the U.S. four months ahead of him.
Instead, Vayeghan was ensnared by President Trump’s executive order, held at Los Angeles International Airport for hours, and deported to Iran by way of Dubai.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California intervened, petitioning the courts to release him.
On Sunday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee issued an order instructing authorities to transport Vayeghan from Dubai to the U.S. — an infrequently used but not unprecedented legal remedy — and admit him under the terms of his visa, which is set to expire in February.
Citing the “irreparable harm” Vayeghan would face, Gee ruled that his attorneys had showed a strong likelihood of successfully arguing that his deportation violated federal law.
By then, Vayeghan was on a plane bound for Tehran.
“It’s a story about a son who wants to see his dad after 12 years, and just be with our family,” said Vayeghan’s niece, Marjan Vayghan, who lives in West Los Angeles. “We did not think this would be a big deal — we’d pick my uncle at LAX, eat, hang out, travel. We didn’t know our entire world would turn upside down.”
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Supporters of President Trump rally in favor of his immigration ban executive order Saturday at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Protesters rallying against the first travel ban signed by President Trump march around Los Angeles International Airport in February. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Trump supporters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Muhaned El Hindi protests the immigration ban Saturday during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Mathew Woods, a supporter of President Trump, voices support for an immigration ban during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Passengers stand in the doorway of a baggage claim area to take pictures and video of marchers protesting the immigration ban of President Trump at LAX on Saturday.
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Supporters of President Trump’s travel ban stand across the street from the #NoBanNoWall protesters at LAX on Saturday.
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Cooper Chvotkin, 6, gets a turn to voice his opinion on the megaphone with other protesters at LAX on Saturday.
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Protesters march through the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX on Saturday to protest President Trump’s travel ban.
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Abeer Abdelrahman, left, hugs her sister Areej Ali at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday after Ali, who has a green card, was able to come through the arrivals area with the help of an attorney after being detained and questioned. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Noor Hindi, left, and Sham Najjar, right, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday.
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Attorney’s crowd a small table at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trump’s travel restrictions.
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Immigration Attorney Monica Glicken, left, listens to Mohamed, right, as she tries to find travelers to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trump’s travel restrictions.
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Hundreds of people protested President Trump’s original travel ban at LAX in January. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block traffic at LAX, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Demonstrators take a pizza break while blocking traffic on the upper level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal while police monitor the rally.
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A pro-Trump supporter argues with protesters about the president’s travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Hundreds sit in on the arrival level of LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal, blocking traffic to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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Airport police plead with protesters to get off the pavement in order to let stranded motorists exit.
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Protesters block traffic, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of LAX.
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Muslims pray as hundreds stand in support on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during a protest against President Trump’s immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Police position themselves as a man takes photos on the on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during protests to President Donald Trump’s new immigration order.
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Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest against President Trump’s immigration order.
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A police officer watches protesters at the lower deck of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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Assmaa Kalm, left, and Rosanna Sounbl, right, protest President Trump’s travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, 2017. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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Police keep an eye on people who continue to protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Hundreds take part in an impromptu sit-in at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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People hang a banner in support of immigrants on a parking structure across the street from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a “Shame” sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Jan. 29, 2017. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Attorney Lisa Smith joins people at LAX who continue to protest President Trump’s travel ban.
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A lone supporter of President Trump and Vice President Pence is protected by police while a large group of people continue to protest President Donald Trump’s travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Chella, from Sherman Oaks, holds the U.S. flag with words from the tablet on the Statue of Liberty.
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Hundreds of people gather at Los Angeles International Airport to continue protesting President Trump’s travel ban.
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Donald Trump supporters hold signs across the road from protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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A traveler tries to get by protesters at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Brothers Adam, left, and Noah Reich show their support of immigrants as they join opponents of Donald Trump’s new immigration order at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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A traveler tries to get by protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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A protester holds up sign at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Hassan Al Garaawi, of San Diego, right, looks for his mother-in-law Gish Alsaeedi who has been detained at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Sunday.
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Passengers arrive at LAX as protests continue Sunday over President Trump’s travel ban.
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Izzy Berdan, of Boston wears an American flag as he chants slogans with other demonstrators Sunday during a rally against President Trump’s order that restricts travel to the U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations.
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People gather in Boston’s Copley Square to protest the travel ban enacted by President Trump.
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Demonstrators gather Sunday near the White House to protest President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
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People continue to protest President Trump’s travel ban on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport.
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Attorney Dana Clausen waits on Sunday to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX as people continue to protest President Trump’s executive order that led to travelers from several majority-Muslim countries being detained upon arrival.
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Kamryn Taghizadeh, 18, holds up a sign Saturday night as she waits for grandfather Reza Taghizadeh, 78, a minimalist painter who was detained as he arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal from Iran. The artist and green-card holder was later released.
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Reza Taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran who holds a U.S. green card, is released after being detained at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Seattle police use pepper spray and push the last group of protesters out of a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport terminal after giving a final dispersal order at about 2 a.m Sunday.
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Saffiya Hrahsheh, center, is helped away from police by Liz Bates, left, and others after being pepper sprayed by officers breaking up protests early Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
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Siavosh Naji-Talakar greets his grandmother, Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal. She was detained upon arriving from Iran.
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People arrive and LAPD officers stand by at Tom Bradley International Airport at LAX as the protest continues peacefully.
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Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to oppose President Trump’s refugee ban.
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Saudia Airlines flight attendants wait to pass through a securioty checkpoint at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday.
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Protesters rally against Trump’s refugee crackdown at at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday.
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Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to speak out against President Trump’s refugee policy Saturday.
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Protesters march through Tom Bradley International Terminal to voice opposition to President Trump’s refugee policy.
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Protesters rally against the new immigration order at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Protesters hold signs during a protest against Trump’s immigration executive order at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
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Protesters assemble at John F. Kennedy International Airport after two Iraqis were detained while trying to enter the country.
(Craig Ruttle / Associated Press) Vayeghan was set to land at 7:15 p.m. Friday, but he never emerged from customs, his niece said. The family waited at LAX until after 3 a.m. Saturday, with scant information about his whereabouts. Attorneys were not allowed to meet with him, the ACLU said.
The ACLU and L.A.-based immigration attorney Stacy Tolchin stepped in, filing a habeas corpus petition on Saturday and the legal aid organization published a copy of the petition online. Attorneys argued that Trump’s executive order violated Vayeghan’s due process and was hostile to a specific religion, Islam, putting it at odds with the 1st Amendment’s establishment clause.
The lawyers secured the necessary paperwork for his release, but it arrived about 45 minutes too late. Vayeghan was put on a plane to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
When his family contemplates the razor-thin margins of time that have worked against them at every step, it compounds their frustration.
“If he had left for Los Angeles one or two days earlier, he’d be fine,” his niece said. “If he hadn’t been deported a half hour earlier, he’d be fine.”
The family spoke to him by phone after he landed in Dubai, where he was waiting to be put on a flight to Tehran.
“We only have an hour and one minute,” Marjan Vayghan said Sunday afternoon. “My family is just here staring at the clock.
“He’s literally crying in the airport in Dubai,” she added.
The order from Gee, the federal judge, came down Sunday afternoon and called for Vayeghan to be transported back to the U.S.
The judge ruled Vayeghan’s lawyers had demonstrated “a strong likelihood of success in establishing that removal violates the Establishment Clause, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and his rights to equal protection guaranteed by the United States Constitution.”
The judge’s relief may have come too late.
Vayeghan’s plane was set to touch down in Tehran on Sunday evening.
His family did not know what would happen next.
[email protected]
Twitter: @MattHjourno
UPDATES:
10:20 p.m.: This article was updated with minor editing.
This article was originally published at 6:20 p.m.
