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Like many times before, Parsin Hajireza was headed to a conference in the U.S. to present exciting new findings from his University of Alberta lab.

He had his visa, his permanent residency card, his slides, his talk prepared and his luggage. But unlike previous trips, he was turned away at the Edmonton International Airport counter early Saturday.

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While Canada has since confirmed that permanent residents and dual citizens are exempt from a ban on travel to the U.S., Hajireza said he was humiliated and didn’t want to join his colleagues for the conference amidst uncertainty with changing U.S. laws.

“I don’t think I want to go anymore,” he said Sunday.

Hajireza, who holds an Iranian passport, heard rumours the night before and decided to go to the airport early.

“I was shocked, but I knew something crazy might be going on,” he said.

Though he didn’t get to the conference, he was happy to see support for those in his situation.