Nationwide protests erupt as Trump begins second week in office
Huge nationwide protests erupted once again on President Donald Trump’s second weekend in office. What started out Saturday as a spontaneous demonstration at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York had spread to airports from coast to coast Sunday, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan.
On Friday, Mr. Trump ordered all travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to be denied entry to the U.S. for 90 days. He suspended all refugee resettlements for 120 days. Those refugees are often looking for a place to escape persecution or are fleeing war-torn countries. Under the order, Syrian refugees are banned indefinitely. Administration officials now say the ban will no longer apply to green card holders even if they are from one of the seven nations.
Dozens were detained this weekend as they attempted to enter the U.S. Many were not vacationers. The group reportedly included a doctor bound for Harvard University, graduate students and several children.
Some the first people ensnared were two Iraqis who had reportedly received asylum for assisting the U.S. military during the Iraq War. One of the men was released from JFK after members of Congress intervened.
One mother, a green card holder from Syria, was detained in Dallas.
“The ones with the visas, they’re all on the floor. They’re tired. They’re all on the floor, and they’re treating them really bad,” her daughter, Mariam Yasin, said.
A 5-year old Iranian boy was held at Washington Dulles International Airport for more than four hours before finally being reunited with his mother.
Immigration lawyers said Mr. Trump’s executive order had thrown airports into disarray.
“There’s really very little to no warning when folks are going to get released,” Steve Golden, one of the attorneys who volunteered his services, said. “So it’s making it very confusing, very difficult.”
As the protests mounted, federal judges in four states temporarily blocked immigration officials from expelling travelers who had permission to be in the country.
But Mr. Trump’s ban on refugees remains in effect as officials review the screening process. The Obama administration had approved about 80 percent of refugee applications.
“When you get a green card, when you get a visa, this is not a five-minute thing,” Golden said. “This is not a very quick, you know, fill a form and check a box. There is an extreme vetting process.”
The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups challenging the president’s executive order, said it had reportedly received about $24 million in online donations since Saturday. The group typically raises $4 million online in a single year.