For the second day in a row, spontaneous protests erupted across the country in response to Donald Trump’s travel ban preventing people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. The order impacts anyone from those seven countries—Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Sudan—even including green card holders.
On Saturday, it became clear that the executive order meant that people traveling from the seven countries were being detained at airports and threatened with deportation. Protesters swarmed airports and gathered to march, chant and hold vigils in at least 40 airports and cities nationwide. The protests erupted again Sunday at airports and cities all over the country, according to estimates reported by the New York Times.
The resistance achieved a victory when U.S. District Court judge Ann M. Donnelly of Brooklyn issued an emergency order Saturday evening, halting the deportations. The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of those banned, which Donnelly said is likely to succeed when a full trial is held in several weeks. Several other federal courts also issued similar stays.
By then Trump’s actions had already caused the forced deportation and humiliation of refugees and other travelers from the banned countries. According to an official estimate from the Department of Homeland Security, the order has impacted an estimated 375 people in less than 23 hours. Many of those people remain in detention in airports across the country. Lawyers are working inside of airports offering help to refugee families and other detainees pro bono in Los Angeles, New York City and elsewhere.
Into Sunday, the Trump administration had not issued any guidance to airports or airlines on how to move forward, apart from reaffirming that the ban would stay in place. In response to Trump’s executive order order, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will take any refugees banned by the U.S. and anyone holding a green card.
Tens of thousands of people—including many politicians at every level of government—continued to march across the country and worldwide in response to the executive order and its blatant islamophobic scapegoating.
Here is a roundup from day two, of the biggest protests against Trump’s blatantly Islamophobic ban:
New York, New York
Following a more than 20-thousand person strong protest on Saturday at JFK International Airport, thousands gathered in lower Manhattan’s Battery Park to rally against the Muslim Ban on Sunday, January 29, as estimated by the New York Times.
Los Angeles, California
Thousands of protesters gathered for the second day in a row LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) on Sunday, January 29 calling Trump’s travel restrictions “un-American,” according to KTLA 5’s report Sunday. LAX is the seventh busiest airport in the world, and has detained an unspecified number of people.
San Francisco, California
Following a march on Saturday, the Mercury News reports that more than 200 people gathered at SFO (San Francisco International Airport) for the second day in a row on Sunday “holding signs and chanting.” The Mercury article states that at the protest “word spread that more protests were being organized,” in the Bay Area.
“On Sunday, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined fifteen attorneys general from around the country to condemn Trump’s orders, expressing confidence that they would not be held up in court,” the Mercury reports.
Washington, D.C.
A protest formed on Sunday outside of Trump Hotel in DC on Sunday in solidarity with the airport protests.
Detroit, Michigan
“Thousands arrived early for a 4 p.m. demonstration at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and crowds gathered for a rally and march at Hamtramck (sic) City Hall and others in Dearborn and Ann Arbor earlier in the day.”
Here is a YouTube video:
Seattle, Washington
The protest continued overnight at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and the Washington Times estimates “about 3,000 protesters…continued demonstrating into early Sunday morning.”
Portland, Oregon
As day two of protests were planned for Sunday evening at Portland International Airport (PDX), the light rail MAX train line to and from the airport was stalled and travel disrupted as an estimated hundreds of people descended upon the airport to march.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney, Governor Tom Wolf, Senator Bob Casey (D – Pa.) and Representative Bob Brady (D – Pa. 1) joined an estimated thousands of people protesting Saturday, and the protest continued into Sunday as “hundreds of protesters shut down airport traffic” according to local ABC news reports.
Following a large protest at Boston’s Logan Airport on Saturday, tens of thousands of Bostonians filled the city’s Copley Square on Sunday afternoon for a day two protest against the ban, as the Boston Herald reports. According to the event’s Facebook page, an estimated 19,000 people said they planned to attend the protest.
Denver, Colorado
Denver International Airport (DIA) protests also continued into Sunday. Organizers said the day two protest at DIA were planned to focus on peace and prayer, according to a local ABC report.
Dallas, Texas
An estimated 200 people gathered on Sunday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to protest the travel ban, New York Post reports. The crowd “awaited word Sunday on what state representatives for the Council on American-Islamic Relations say are nine people detained at the airport.”
Newark, New Jersey
Protesters rallied in Newark Liberty International Airport well into Saturday, and hundreds were expected to attend a continuing protest on Sunday.
Atlanta, Georgia
Hundreds of protesters gatheredat Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Sunday afternoon.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
A “No Ban, No Wall!” march was planned for Sunday late afternoon in Albequerque, New Mexico, and according to the event’s Facebook page 1.3 thousand people were interested in attending.
Baltimore, Maryland
Hundreds rallied at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Sunday, demanding that the president rescind his order, according to the Baltimore Sun’s report.
Columbus, Ohio
At John Glenn International Airport, the estimated protest attendance was 500 people. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Rep. Joyce Beatty, both Democrats, spoke at the event, as the local NBC channel reports.
Indianapolis, Indiana
According to the Indianapolis Star, almost 400 people gathered at protests Sunday to oppose the order at Indianapolis International Airport.
Boise, Idaho
More than 600 people attended the protests at the Boise AIrport, according to Idaho Statesman.
St. Louis, Missouri
Reports estimate about 1,000 protesters at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis on Sunday.
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport gathered 500 protesters on Sunday, according to local reports.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Six people were arrested at Saturday night’s protests in Charlotte-Douglass International Airport in North Carolina after they reportedly entered the airport terminal, which local police have stated is against city code. On Day two, about 50 protesters rallied again, many carrying American flags and signs.
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Protest actions continued into late Sunday, including smaller protests in solidarity with the larger airport protests in cities and towns across the country. In Scottland and throughout the UK, sister protests have also broken out.
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