Extraordinary images from airports across the US.
Protests have taken place in several US airports as protesters demonstrated their anger at the recent executive orders issued by President Trump.
As stated previously, President Trump approved of significant changes to the visa and refugee programs in the United States.
Among the many points, it includes:
- Cutting the number of refugees allowed into the United States.
- An 120 day suspension on the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, which identifies and processes refugees for resettlement in the US.
- Suspending the entry of all “immigrants and nonimmigrants” from Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Libya for a period of 90 days. This may also apply to citizens of Libya, Yemen and Somalia, depending on the interpretation.
- A ban on all Syrian refugees from entering the US, for an indefinite period.
It didn’t take long for these orders to be implemented as travellers from those 7 Muslim nations have already been either barred from getting on their flights or detained at US airports after landing.
Overnight, a federal judge in New York barred the U.S. from deporting travellers from these 7 countries that held valid visas. US District Judge Ann Donnelly issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports.
Since this was issued, the Homeland Security Department replied by saying that this effort was in vain and that it will not affect the overall implementation of the White House executive decision.
The department’s statement said: “President Trump’s Executive Orders remain in place— prohibited 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,” according to the DHS statement.
Various organisations including the AFT Union and New York Taxi Workers Alliance have publicly announced their support for the protesters in US airports.
“Our 19,000-member-strong union stands firmly opposed to Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. As an organization whose membership is largely Muslim, a workforce that’s almost universally immigrant, and a working-class movement that is rooted in the defense of the oppressed, we say no to this inhumane and unconstitutional ban,” the NYTWA said in a statement.
“We stand in solidarity with all protesting at JFK #Terminal4 & airports across the country. We are a country of immigrants, we stand together,” AFT union wrote on Twitter.
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance also joined the protests, leaving the JFK Terminal 4 pick-up lines empty.
No cabs in this line at JFK terminal 4. #NoBanNoWall #RefugeesWelcome pic.twitter.com/ZX5BycRTie
— NY Taxi Workers (@NYTWA) January 28, 2017
“We cannot be silent. We go to work to welcome people to a land that once welcomed us, we will not be divided,” a tweet from the NYTWA read Saturday evening.
Here’s a look at some of the protests that took place in airports at New York, Boston and Seattle.
https://twitter.com/DGisSERIOUS/status/825480813546442753
WATCH: The crowd at Saturday's Logan Airport protest of Donald Trump's immigration edict. https://t.co/dRtLkqnxoO pic.twitter.com/6LsXcvF9Tm
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) January 29, 2017
Protest of Trump's executive orders at international arrivals at SeaTac pic.twitter.com/SXX82j0qtj
— venice buhain (@venicebuhain) January 29, 2017
I was at JFK and this is what I saw, play with sound. pic.twitter.com/dE25qVm2wt
— Francis Albert (@TitusPoliticus) January 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/NoahHurowitz/status/825481061064904709
