USA TODAY International Edition
Trump’s travel ban ignites a firestorm
Immigration order temporarily barring entries from 7 Muslim- majority countries sparks widespread demonstrations in more than 30 U. S. cities
Protesters marched, chanted and waved signs across the nation Sunday as angry immigrant advocates pressed their demand for an end to President Trump’s executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim- majority countries from entering the U. S.
Rallies underway in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Los Angeles and other cities Sunday drew thousands, part of a groundswell of fury that erupted at airports across the nation Saturday and showed no signs of abating.
“There is such an energy and anger that I have to do something about it,” said Jan Rudzinski, of Arden, Del., as she joined a rally in Philadelphia where signs said “Welcome Muslims” and “Let them in.”
In Washington, thousands gathered and marched outside the White House. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio joined a rally “for our city’s values” at Battery Park, where Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N. Y., called the ban “meanspirited.” Schumer said Trump’s order served only to “embolden and inspire” terrorists around the world.
In Boston, thousands turned out in Copley Square, many holding signs including “Brown and proud” and “No wall no ban.”
“Can you hear us Washing- ton?!” tweeted Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. “We’re standing strong in Boston to support & protect ALL of our people & we will not back down. #NoBanNoWall”
In Virginia, the advocacy group CASA’s call for a rally at Dulles International Airport drew dozens of placard- carrying protesters.
“We will not stop until this executive order is canceled and we arrive at common- sense immigration reform that takes into account the lives of immigrant and refugee families,” CASA Virginia state director Michelle LaRue said.
Protests targeted major airports from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York. Other demonstrations were kicking off in town squares and smaller airports from Bangor, Maine, to Bloomington, Ind., to Boise.
The executive order, signed Friday, suspends entry of all refugees to the U. S. for 120 days, halts admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely and bars
“We will not stop until this executive order is canceled and we arrive at common- sense immigration reform.” Michelle LaRue, CASA state director
entry for three months to residents from the predominantly Muslim countries of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Protesters began swarming major airports Saturday. In Chicago, thousands of demonstrators gathered at O’Hare International Airport. In New York, more than 2,000 at John F. Kennedy Airport chanted “Let them in!” At Los Angeles International Airport, 200 protesters, shouted, “No Trump, No KKK, No fascist USA.”
Federal Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn granted an emergency stay Saturday at the behest of immigration rights lawyers. The judge’s ruling applies to those who have already arrived in the U. S. and those who are in transit who hold valid visas. Judges in Massachusetts and Virginia also ordered halts.
The Department of Homeland Security shrugged off court rulings on Sunday, saying they will have little impact on “overall implementation” of Trump’s order.
“President Trump’s Executive Orders remain in place — prohib- ited travel will remain prohibited, and the U. S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety,” DHS said in a statement. It added, “No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States.”
The statement noted that “less than one percent of the more than 325,000 international air travelers who arrive every day were inconvenienced” while measures were implemented.
Trump himself reaffirmed his decision Sunday on Twitter: “Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!”
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., lauded Trump’s order as “responsible,” telling USA TODAY that U. S. intelligence agencies need time to “ascertain the scope of the Islamic terror threat in order to develop proper refugee vetting protocols — if possible.”
Other Republicans, however, were less enthused. Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., tweeted the executive order “sends signal, intended or not, that US doesn’t want Muslims here ...” And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., told ABC’s
This Week that the courts will decide “whether or not this has gone too far. I don’t want to criticize them for improving vetting. I think we need to be careful. We don’t have religious tests in this country.”
“The last 48 hours have really been full of chaos,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, one of the groups that sued the federal government.