Today @Reuters published my story on a tiny library straddling the U.S.-Canada border, which has become the unlikely site of bittersweet reunions for families separated by Trump's travel ban reuters.com/article/us-usa… 1/11
The Haskell Free Library and Opera House sits in both Quebec and Vermont, so it's in a sort of geopolitical gray zone, accessible to people entering from both the U.S. and Canada 2/11 
Shirin Estahbanati, an Iranian studying in the US, hadn't seen her father for nearly 3 years, during which time he had suffered a heart attack in Iran, where he lives. She was able to see her parents in August at the library. Here she is describing the moment they embraced 3/11
It's hard to know how many people have met at this library, but on a rainy, cold Saturday in early November, I saw 2 families reuniting. A signature book had 12 Iranian names going back to March. And I found 7 other families who had tried to or managed to meet there 4/11
Iranians are largely barred from entering the US due to Trump's travel ban, which was upheld by the Supreme Court this summer. But there are thousands of Iranians studying in the US - around 12,800, according to @IIEglobal - the 12th largest population of int'l students here 5/11
Starting this spring Iranians in US/abroad began learning through word-of-mouth about the Haskell library. They began planning reunions there - often spending thousands for just a few hours together. But for ppl who sometimes hadn't seen each other for years, it was worth it 6/11
The visits have put a lot of pressure on the tiny library itself. Just two main reading rooms, a stacks area, and a front hallway. And the head librarian told me that Canadian/American authorities had threatened to shut it down over the family visits. 7/11
Canadian law enforcement denies issuing such a threat, and US Customs and Border Protection declined to comment. But several families told me that Border Patrol officers had told them they can't meet there or that they should limit their visits to a few minutes 8/11
At other times, Border Patrol allows the visits to occur w little objection (as I witnessed this month). The library board of trustees banned the visits a few weeks ago + there are signs saying so all over the bldg. But when I was there, the staff allowed visits to continue 10/11
The story of this small library thrust into a strange, outsize role is part of the larger story of the travel ban, which is now embedded into U.S. law and is reshaping the lives of thousands of people 11/11
.@zgoelman, who is an unbelievable reporting partner, made a beautiful video version of this story. I hope you watch it reuters.tv/v/P5Xb
