Travel ban sparks protests
TENS of thousands of people rallied in US cities and at airports on Sunday to voice outrage over President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting entry into the country for travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
In New York, Washington and Boston, a second wave of demonstrations followed spontaneous rallies that broke out at US airports on Saturday as US Customs and Border Protection agents began enforcing Trump’s directive.
The protests spread westward as the day progressed.
The order, which bars admission of Syrian refugees and suspends travel to the US from Syria, Iraq, Iran and four other countries on national security grounds, has led to the detention or deportation of hundreds of people arriving at US airports.
One of the largest of Sunday’s protests took place at Battery Park in lower Manhattan, within sight of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour.
The march, estimated to have grown to about 10 000 people, later began heading to the US Customs and Border Protection office in lower Manhattan.
In Washington, thousands rallied at Lafayette Square across from the White House, chanting: “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here.”
On Sunday, many of the protesters left the White House area and marched along Pennsylvania Avenue, stopping at the Trump International Hotel where they shouted: “Shame, shame, shame.”
A crowd that police estimated at 8 000 people eventually arrived at the steps of the US Capitol, where a line of uniformed officers stood guard.
As the crowd passed the Canadian Embassy en route to the Capitol, protesters chanted: “Hey hey, ho ho, I wish our leader was Trudeau.”
It was a reference to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Saturday Twitter message affirming his country’s welcoming policy toward refugees.
Trump defended the executive order in a statement on Sunday, saying the US would resume issuing visas to all countries once secure policies were put in place over the next 90 days.
“To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting,” Trump said. “This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.” — Reuters