US travel ban takes effect, with lawyers on hand just in case

Lawyers and rights activists took up positions at major US airports as a weakened version of President Donald Trump's travel ban took effect late on June 29.

But there were no signs of the chaos that erupted when the first version of the restriction, derided as discriminatory against Muslims, was abruptly imposed back in January.

Attorneys working pro-bono set up makeshift, just-in-case legal aid stations -- some with signs in Arabic -- at airports serving New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington and other cities, news reports said.

Protesters angry over Trump's immigration policies also turned out, with some in Los Angeles holding black-and-white placards denouncing Trump as a fascist.

But the first hours of the new version of the ban, as allowed by the Supreme Court, appeared to unfold calmly.

Gone were the dramatic scenes of some people arriving from seven mainly Muslim countries being detained and questioned for hours, with some even deported on short order to where they came from.

"We're not really expecting any issues at the airport. But we're here just in case, to monitor, to tell people what's going on, and to report back what we're seeing," Camille Mackler, director of legal initiatives at the New York Immigration Coalition, told The Daily Beast.

She was among volunteers at JFK Airport in New York awaiting flights from London, Istanbul, Doha and Abu Dhabi. "We think we're going to see it abroad, because it's really for people applying for visas," Mackler added.

The Trump administration says the temporary ban is necessary to keep terrorists out of the country, but immigrant advocates charge that it illegally singles out Muslims.

Under a Supreme Court ruling this...