Detained Iranian Student Greeted Warmly In Return To LAX

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) – An Iranian woman was allowed to return to the U.S. Sunday after being caught up in the travel ban for several tumultuous days.

Sarah Yarjani, an Iranian national with a student visa, attends college in San Diego. Last week, just hours after President Trump signed the seven-country travel ban, Sarah arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport from Vienna. She was detained by Customs and Border Protection agents for 23 hours before boarding a flight back to Vienna, where her parents are located.

"I couldn't understand why that had to happen, I was just coming back to go to school," Yarjani said.

When a federal judge halted the travel ban Friday, Sarah was able to fly from Vienna to LAX once again.

On Sunday, she was greeted by spontaneous applause at LAX. Yarjani and her sister, Sahar, shared a tearful hug in the Bradley International Terminal. Both had wondered when or if Sarah would ever be back here. Sahar resides in Vancouver, Wash., on a green card. She flew down to Los Angeles just to greet her sister.

"I was worried about her being worried," Sarah said about her sister. "The whole family's been worried for me."

Sarah's return even included a nice welcome from some of the CBP agents who had stopped her.

"They were very, very nice," Sarah said. "I knew a lot of them because I was here for 23 hours last week."

Sarah said she was overwhelmed by all the support from ACLU lawyers, her family, friends and many people she will never know.

"There's been so many messages and calls from people I don't even know of support and love and I'm so grateful," Sarah said.

Sarah made it clear she still loves the U.S.

"With everything I've seen, with the love and support I've seen, that's even more true than ever," Sarah said.