Between "citizen" and "undocumented immigrant" is the world of the lawful permanent resident.

As of 2014, an estimated 13 million “green card” holders were living, working and going to school legally in the United States.

Through September, more than 1,500 immigrants in Columbus had applied for green cards in 2016. More recent figures were unavailable last week, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

For some, their green cards didn’t prevent them from being detained or turned away at the border during the first days of President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration. The Department of Homeland Security suspended enforcement of the ban on Saturday after a federal judge blocked Trump's order, leaving the status of immigrants further in question.

Immigration lawyer Jessica Rodriguez of Columbus said a client who is a permanent resident was held and interviewed for four hours last weekend for no good reason as he tried to re-enter the United States from Canada at Detroit.

“They were extremely rude to him, and he wasn’t from one of the seven countries," she said, referring to the targets of Trump's travel ban: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

In contrast, another green-card client, she said, returned from Canada through Buffalo, New York, last weekend with no problem.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington did not respond to a request for comment Saturday. However, on Wednesday, the White House clarified the executive order, saying that legal residents, even from the seven countries, didn't need a waiver to re-enter the United States.

"That signals to me that this was a mistake," lawyer Adem Vllasi, who also specializes in immigration, said of the quick correction. "It was completely unintentional."

"I think honestly there's a lot of misinformation and political hysteria around all of this," Vllasi said of the executive order. The president was within his right to impose special restrictions against certain countries, Vllasi said.

Some permanent residents never become U.S. citizens. Rodriguez and Vllasi both urge their clients to seek naturalization as soon as they’re eligible: five years after receiving their green card, or three for someone married to a citizen.

"Trump is a time bomb," Rodriguez said. “We’re telling people, ‘If you have your time in and are eligible, do it now.'"

There's no telling what order the president might sign, and citizenship is a guarantee against deportation, she said.

Vllasi said he is more concerned about what permanent residents could do that would cost them their status. A long list of crimes, ranging from some thefts to murder, can result in deportation. Also, permanent residents who leave the country for a year or longer without first having applied for a re-entry permit could lose their green card.

The number of permanent residents applying to become naturalized citizens continues to grow. About 5,000 took the oath at the federal courthouse in Columbus last year, said Fran Green, who oversees naturalization ceremonies. Citizenship and Immigration Services has asked Green to schedule enough ceremonies through April to handle twice as many people as usual.

The naturalization process can take six months from applying to being sworn in by a judge. Those taking the oath now would have applied last summer, when the presidential campaign was heating up.

Green said applications always increase in election years because the new citizens can't wait to vote. For many, it's their first chance to elect leaders.

Rodriguez cited concern about young people who are part of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy of the Obama administration. DACA allows people who entered the country illegally before June 2007 while younger than 16 to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit under certain conditions.

Many of these young people are in high school or college. Rodriguez said many have trips planned abroad for school programs, and they worry that they won't be able to return.

"I can’t tell them definitely yes, because what if (Trump) decides next week to repeal DACA," Rodriguez said. "I tell them, 'You’re doing it at your own risk."

Vllasi said he would be shocked to see such a major change in immigration policy.

"People are throwing the baby out with the bath water," he said.

erinehart@dispatch.com

@esrinehart