US President Donald Trump’s newly-signed executive order that temporarily bans the citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US has sparked criticism around the globe.
31 January 2017
The Netherlands has frozen negotiations with the US on cooperation between the two nations’ border control authorities, which were aimed at allowing people travelling to the US from Amsterdam pass through US-authorized border control in the Dutch capital to avoid waiting in lines once they arrive in the US.
The Dutch government said it did not see the possibility for continuing talks in light of the travel ban imposed on seven predominantly Muslim countries by the Trump administration – a policy which Amsterdam considers discriminatory.
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla has strongly criticized the travel ban, saying that Trump’s policy can raise “suspicion” toward Muslims.
“[The ban] won’t affect us directly in a big way, but it can raise suspicion especially toward Muslims,” Jusuf Kalla told news website Detik.com, as cited by Reuters. Indonesia was not included in the list of banned counties.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesperson Numan Kurtulmuş called Trump in an attempt to get him to correct his “wrongful measure.”
“Unfortunately, I am of the opinion that rising Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-immigrant feelings have a great weight on this decision. Taking such a decision in a country like America, where different ethnic and religious groups are able to co-exist is very offensive. This is not right,” he told Haberturk newspaper.
Acting AG tells DOJ lawyers not to defend Trump travel ban order
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates instructed Justice Department attorneys to not legally defend President Donald Trump's executive order on refugees and immigration.
Yates, an Obama appointee, is expected to be replaced by Trump's pick, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), in the near future. Meanwhile, courts in California, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Washington state have already been presented with cases challenging the order. READ MORE here.
30 January 2017
Uber sets up $3mn defense fund amid criticism over Trump travel ban response
The rideshare app Uber, fending off a #DeleteUber hashtag campaign on social media, promises $3 million in legal defense funds for its drivers impacted by President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily banning travel to the US from seven Muslim countries. The company upset many after advertising on Twitter during a taxi strike over the ban at New York’s JFK airport.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced the $3 million fund Saturday in a sponsored Facebook post targeting users interested in the American Civil Liberties Union. Co-founders of Uber’s chief competitor Lyft had announced earlier they would donate $1 million to the ACLU, following a backlash against Uber for running a Twitter ad promoting their services to JFK airport travelers as a taxi strike was ongoing.
Kalanick is a member of a business advisory group for the Trump White House, a position that has already left Uber the target of anti-Trump protests.
Australian nationals exempt from US travel ban
Australian nationals with a passport from one of the seven predominantly Muslim countries listed in US President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban will be exempt, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Tuesday.
“Our ambassador has just called me to say that he’s had assurances, confirmation from the White House, that Australian passport holders, regardless of their place of birth or whether they are dual nationals, or whether they hold another passport, will remain welcome to come and go to the United States in the usual way,” Turnbull told Sky News on Tuesday, according to the Guardian. “It means Australian passport holders will be able to travel to the United States in the same way as they were able to prior to the executive order of the 27th of January.”
The Trump administration is facing mounting legal questions over the constitutionality of its executive order when it singled out seven Muslim-majority countries in its temporary travel ban.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations sued Monday, saying the order violates the First Amendment's bar of preferential treatment for a religion, by appearing to favor Christian over Muslim refugees.
The ACLU is working on a lawsuit to challenge the executive order arguing that not only did it violate US international laws but violated the First Amendment and possibly violations for the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment by denying due process when Customs and Border Protections denied travelers access to an attorney.
"The orders are very vague, and it has created a lot of confusion on the ground as well. Summarizing the executive order this is a ban on people of Muslim faith," Mariko Hirose, Senior Staff Attorney with New York Civil Liberties Union told reporters on Monday.
Legal experts are divided as to whether courts will find Trump's action constitutional, but federal law gives the president broad power to restrict entry, particularly for national security concerns.
Microsoft has been cooperating with the Washington AG Bob Ferguson, who is asking a federal court to stop President Trump's order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Microsoft was providing information about the order's impact "in order to be supportive. And we'd be happy to testify further if needed," spokesman Pete Wootton said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
Former President Barack Obama said he was “heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities across the country,” and that he “fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.”
Major Wall Street banks have also come out in opposition to the travel ban.
Citigroup is concerned about the message the order sents, and the impact US immigration policies could have on the bank serving its clients, CEO Mike Corbat said, according to AP.
The travel ban is not something Goldman Sachs supports, and it has potential to "disrupt" the firm, said CEO Lloyd Blankfein.
A handful of UN staff members from the seven countries affected by the travel ban were kept from boarding US-bound planes over the weekend, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. They were traveling on G-4 visas, which allow non-diplomats to work at the UN headquarters in New York.
However, “all issues had been ironed out and we got the needed assurances from the US Mission” that all staff with valid G-4 visas can return to work, Dujarric said.
The UN “very much hopes that the measures put in place regarding refugees are temporary,” the spokesman added.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that "deporting anyone" was not the goal.
“We gotta keep this in proportion folks,” he said, noting that the outcry was about 109 people out of 325,000 people who entered the country over those 24 hours.
“This is a national security issue,” he said, emphasizing that the same countries in Trump's order were designated by former President Barack Obama in a December 2015 law. "We followed through on that."
Trump's executive order restricting travel has been described as "one of the greatest challenges to our unity and solidarity” by the head of the African Union Commission.“The very country to which many of our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade has now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries,” said Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Three members of the bloc – Libya, Somalia and Sudan – have been affected by to so-called Muslim ban, enacted on Saturday.
Representatives of the union's 53 member states are meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a two-day summit.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has announced it would seek an injunction against Trump's executive order. CAIR said they would specifically go after Section 5(e), allowing exemptions if "the person is a religious minority in his country of nationality facing religious persecution," saying this amounts to religious discrimination.
Also on Monday, Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he would file a legal action against the executive order. Ferguson is one of the 16 state AGs who came out against the "Muslim ban" over the weekend.
Uber announced it was setting up a $3 million legal defense fund to help drivers “who may be impacted by the President’s unjust immigration ban” with immigration and translation services. The company will also provide “24/7 legal support for drivers who are trying to get back into the country” and compensate the drivers affected for lost earnings, CEO Travis Kalanick said on Monday.
Uber will “urge the government to reinstate the right of US residents to travel—whatever their country of origin—immediately,” Kalanick said.
The company has been targeted by those outraged by the travel ban after it "broke" the hour-long strike by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance on Saturday by suspending surge pricing.
Protesters against the "Muslim ban" have encircled the US embassy in Ottawa, Canada.
The Pentagon is compiling a list of Iraqi nationals who would be exempt from Trump’s executive order, including translators and fighter pilots training in the US. The White House offered Defense Secretary James Mattis a chance to make exemptions “sometime over the weekend,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters Monday.
Over 100 State Department officials, both in Washington DC and in diplomatic missions abroad, have signed onto a "dissent channel" letter opposing the so-called Muslim ban.
While the letter has not yet been published, a draft shown to the Wall Street Journal says “this ban does not achieve its aims and will likely be counterproductive” in the war against terrorism and will instead “immediately sour relations with these seven countries, as well as much of the Muslim world.”
The "dissent channel" was created during the Vietnam War. Last year, 50 State Department officials sent a protest letter through the channel, demanding President Barack Obama launch a military operation in Syria. It was classified and never made public.
The Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution calling on the government in Baghdad to “respond in kind to the American decision,” AFP reported.
“We are against this stance from the new administration,” said MP Sadiq al-Laban. “We hope that the American administration will rethink... this decision.”
The measure is to apply to Americans entering Iraq, according to AP’s sources. But it is not clear who will be affected by the ban: American military personnel, non-government and aid workers, oil companies and other Americans doing business in Iraq, or all of them.
Meanwhile, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation said it was “gravely concerned” over the executive order and that it would only embolden extremists while “adversely and unjustly” affecting those fleeing war and persecution.
President Trump has blamed Delta Airlines and airport protesters for disruptions and chaos caused during the demonstration against his travel ban.
The president tweeted that Homeland Security reported “very few problems” presently, and that earlier ones had been caused by a Delta computer glitch, protesters, and "tears of Senator Schumer," leader of the Senate Democrats.
Iraq has asked the White House to "reconsider" the travel ban, according to a foreign ministry statement.
The Iraqi parliament has voted to ask the government to "retaliate" against the ban, a parliamentary media official told Reuters.
A government official in Baghdad earlier stated that Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari plans to meet the US ambassador on Monday or Tuesday to express dismay at the executive order.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has not yet reacted to the ban.
The mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, slammed the ban in a speech over the weekend.
The ban issued by Trump harms the struggle against radicalism, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said in a statement on its website.
"Such selective and discriminatory acts will only serve to embolden the radical narratives of extremists," the group wrote.
"[The move] will provide further fuel to the advocates of violence and terrorism at a critical time when the OIC has been engaged with all partners, including the US, to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations."
The European Union is analyzing Trump's executive order to determine whether it will impact EU citizens, according to European Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas.
Schinas told a news conference that the EU is getting "conflicting input" on whether the ban will affect EU citizens with dual nationality from the countries affected, Reuters reported.
The US embassy in Berlin has advised nationals and dual nationals of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen not to apply for visas to the US, noting that visa issuance has been suspended.
The head of the African Union (AU) says the travel ban - which includes three African countries - heralds "turbulent times" for the continent.
"We are entering very turbulent times. The very country to which many of our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade has now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries. What do we do about this? Indeed, this is one of the greatest challenges to our unity and solidarity," Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, commission chief of the 54-member union, said during a speech to open an AU summit.
Poland's foreign minister has defended the ban imposed by Trump, stating that each sovereign nation has the right to decide its own immigration policy.
"No state has the duty to accept immigrants," Witold Waszczykowski told Polsat News, as quoted by AP. He added that Trump "has the right" to impose the ban.
Waszczykowski belongs to a conservative government that is strongly opposed to accepting Muslim refugees.
Footage from a protest in Portland over the weekend shows demonstrators shouting "Build a wall, we'll tear it down!"
Yemen’s foreign ministry said on Monday that President Trump’s order banning travellers from Muslim-majority countries would play into the hands of extremists.
“Yemen expresses its dissatisfaction after the order prohibiting, even for a limited time, the entry to the United States of people holding a Yemeni passport,” a foreign ministry spokesman said, as cited by AFP.
“Such a decision is likely to strengthen the position of extremists,” the spokesman said, adding that “the only way to achieve victory in the fight against terrorism… is dialogue and not creating barriers.”
Starbucks plans to hire 10,000 refugees over five years in 75 countries, the company’s CEO Howard Schultz said on Sunday in a letter to employees. The effort is to start with the US and initially focus on had worked with US troops in foreign nations.
Schultz also pledged to offer health insurance through Starbucks to employees, who may be affected by a repeal of Obamacare and affirmed commitment to trading with Mexico. The executive is to step down in a few months to focus on new high-end coffee shops, with Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson slated to take over the CEO position.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has reported a sharp rise in donations and membership since the ‘Muslim ban’ executive order by Trump. The organization has received over $10 million since Saturday morning, as well as over 150,000 new members, the ACLU said.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Anthony Romero, executive director of the civil liberties group, told Yahoo News in a telephone interview. “People are fired up and want to be engaged. What we’ve seen is an unprecedented public reaction to the challenges of the Trump administration.”
Hundreds of protesters rallied at Washington Dulles International Airport, Sunday, to protest against US President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration that blocks travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US.
On Sunday, the protests spread across the US, with thousands of people in more than 30 cities, including Washington, New York, Boston, Orlando, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Dallas, taking to the streets.
At Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, police deployed tear gas as they moved to disperse protesters who stayed up after midnight, forcing them out of the building through a parking garage.
In New York, protesters at Battery Park were joined by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was another prominent politician to personally appear at the protests.
At Dulles International Airport, demonstrators sang the National Anthem and “This Land Is Your Land,” as they cheered those arriving at the international terminal.
Nike CEO Mark Parker has joined the growing chorus of those condemning Trump’s travel ban. In an email sent to Nike employees, Parker said it runs contrary to the values Nike stands for and also threatens diversity. Parker specifically mentioned British Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah, a Nike ambassador, who was born in Somalia and have a family living in Oregon, who could be a potential victim of the ban.
“Nike stands together against bigotry and any form of discrimination. We’ve learned that on the field of play, where fairness and mutual respect are the rule, not the exception,” he wrote.
29 January 2017
Donald Trump has responded to the joint statement of Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, in which they criticized the decision-making process behind Trump’s executive order on immigration arguing it “may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.”
“The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong – they are sadly weak on immigration. Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III,” Trump tweeted.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal critic of Trump, has expressed concern over the potential fallout from the president’s executive order on travel restrictions.
Crowds have also gathered outside the White House chanting “let them in,” and ”no ban, no wall.”
Attorneys general from 16 states, including California, New York and Pennsylvania, have condemned Trump’s immigration order.
A joint statement was issued condemning President Donald Trump's executive order.
"We are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created," the statement said.
Conservative commentator and fervent Trump supported Ann Coulter has tweeted a number of controversial posts on the matter.
BBC World Service reporter Ali Hamedani appears to be one of a number of people caught in travel limbo.
The Iranian journalist tweeted yesterday about how he was “on board to LA”. He now appears to be caught in a US airport after having his passport taken away.
He told followers he was taken to a waiting room alongside another woman with an “Iranian passport and green card.”
After two hours, Hamedani was released.
The head of the Arab League has expressed “deep concern” at the developments in the US, as several of the League’s member nations have been included in the ban.
Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has described the restrictive travel measures brought in by President Donald Trump as “unjustified,” reports AFP.
Aboul Gheit has called for the US government to “review its position.”
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has designated areas for people to protest US executive order restrictions.
Airport management said the areas have been set aside to accommodate “large crowds” safely and securely.
Former UKIP leader and staunch Brexiteer Nigel Farage has backed President Trump over the immigration controversy by telling protesters that they need to “wake up.”
“He could not have been clearer, that he would do everything he could to make life safer, to try and stop ISIS getting into America,” Farage told Fox News. “Frankly, what I think he’s doing is he is honoring his pledge to the American people. I’d say to the protesters: ‘It’s called democracy guys and girls, wake up.”
Dozens of protesters are braving the rain outside Miami International Airport to show their support for people affected by Trump’s order.
“Hey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go,” sing the crowd of anti-travel ban protesters.
Meanwhile social media has been flooded with images and videos of ‘No Ban, No Wall’ rallies from other airports around the US, including Dallas Fort Worth in Texas and Portland International in Oregon.
State Senator Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) says he will introduce a bill next week in an effort to reverse the new president’s “dangerous, hateful order.”
Scores of demonstrators have gathered outside the White House in Washington DC to voice their disapproval of the decision to restrict US entry for people from seven Muslim-majority nations.
RT is carrying a livestream of the event.
Judges in Washington State, Massachusetts and Virginia have partially blocked Trump’s executive order banning entry to people coming from seven countries, reports Reuters.
It follows a similar stay on the order by New York judge, Ann Donnelly, who ruled that individuals whose refugee and other visa applications have already been approved should not be deported.
Demonstrators have returned to one terminal at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
On Saturday, the airport was inundated with crowds chanting “Refugees are welcome here,” while there were reports of several protesters being pepper sprayed by police.
Footage also showed people pouring milk into the eyes of fellow protesters after apparently being sprayed with the irritant.
Anti-travel ban protesters are holding a second event at San Diego International Airport this weekend, due to start at 5pm local time Sunday.
Organizers of the Protest Muslim Ban event are warning non-US citizens not to travel to the airport for the protest in case of arrest.
“If you are detained, you should not answer any questions until there is an attorney present; there are attorneys at all of the major airports,” the protest notice read.
Nearly 500 people indicated on Facebook that they will attend the demonstration.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has told US media that 42 people are still being detained nationwide because of the executive order.
Schumer has called for President Trump to overturn the “awful” order and indicated that Democrats are planning to introduce legislation to help make that happen, Reuters reports.
Sudan’s diplomat to the US has been directed to lodge a formal complaint about the country’s inclusion as one of the seven nations specifically listed under Trump’s travel ban.
According to Reuters, Sudanese authorities fear the matter sends a “negative message” just two weeks after the US eased sanctions on the North African nation.
Placard-holding protesters at Dallas Forth Worth International Airport are calling for people to “resist Trump.”
At arrivals some could be heard singing the Woody Guthrie folk song “This Land Is Your Land.”
Nearly 14,000 people have signed a petition to stop Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny from carrying out a decades-old tradition of handing over shamrock to the US president on St Patrick’s Day.
Irish Labour Party Leader Brendan Howlin said that Ireland should not allow its prime minister to visit the White House after Trump’s recent orders.
“President Trump does not share our values,” he said. “Indeed, he is openly hostile to them.”
Howlin added that, “the only thing a visit by the Taoiseach [prime minister] to the White House could achieve would be to present Ireland as a supine supporter of Trumpism.”
Philadelphia International Airport has warned travelers to expect delays getting to and from terminals because of protests over the travel ban.
Republican Senator John McCain said American allies like Britain do not appear to have been informed of Trump’s plans despite the president recently meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
“We saw the reaction of the prime minister of England who just had a very successful visit here… That’s another thing that should have been done is to alert our friends and allies what we were doing,” McCain said on CBS Face the Nation.
The former Republican presidential candidate said the move may give ISIS “more propaganda.”
Confusion persists over how the measures will affect green card holders.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Sunday that green card holders are not affected by the current executive orders. Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Priebus said more countries could be added to the restricted travel list.
The US does not “want people who are travelling back and forth to one of these seven countries that harbour terrorists to be travelling freely,” into the nation, Priebus added.
On Saturday, a Homeland Security spokesperson stated that the orders would indeed “bar green card holders.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked her Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd to contact their US counterparts about the ban, reports the BBC.
Johnson has labelled the US immigration measures “divisive and wrong” - a sentiment backed up by one-time Tory leader candidate Andrea Leadsom.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that authorities need to be “careful” while implementing the new immigration procedures.
The Republican told ABC’s This Week that Muslims overseas are some of the “best sources” to fight radical Islamic terrorism.
Protesters are once again expected to gather at US airports today following similar anti-Trump events outside terminals in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington DC.
A rally organized by the Support Central Florida Muslim Community has gained traction with thousands of people online.
Trump dissenters have been told to meet at Orlando International Airport, Florida, around lunchtime to make a peaceful stand against the executive orders.
Trump has been tweeting about religious tensions in the Middle East in apparent support for the executive order.
It’s unclear whether Trump is referring to the entire history of the Middle East, or more recent times.
Twitter users have been trolling Trump Hotels over the controversial ‘Muslim ban.’ Scores of people have been responding to a tweet posted by the Trump brand over five years ago with refugee stories and angry reactions to the travel restrictions.
READ MORE: Trump Hotels Twitter trolled mercilessly in wake of ‘Muslim ban’
A Syrian Christian Orthodox family was turned back from Philadelphia International Airport after travelling to the United States from Lebanon, airport sources in Beirut said on Sunday. The family of six were denied entry under U.S. President Donald Trump's new ban on nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries, including Syria, and flew back to Lebanon via Doha, the sources said. (Reuters)
A ‘couple of dozen’ people remain detained under the immigration executive act, White House Chief-of-Staff Reince Priebus said.
Emirates airline has changed pilot and crew rosters on US-bound flights, an airline spokeswoman said, as cited by Reuters.
“The recent change to the US entry requirements for nationals of seven countries applies to all travelers and flight operations crew,” the spokeswoman said, adding “we have made the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements.”
Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen also responded to the travel ban imposed by Trump, saying that the EU and US should treat refugees equally.
“Finland and the rest of the EU will not and must not discriminate against refugees based on their religion. In any circumstances,” Mykkänen wrote on Twitter.
Tehran has summoned the Swiss envoy to Iran, who acts as the representative of US interests, to protest Trump’s travel ban, Reuters reports, citing state media.
Giulio Haas was “handed a letter of protest on the recent executive order by the US President and the imposed limitations and discriminatory behavior against Iranian citizens traveling to America,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi also told AFP.
According to Ghasemi, the envoy was told the ban was “baseless, discriminatory and unacceptable.”
Air France appears to be helping to enforce the ban.
At least 15 people have been prevented from boarding US-bound Air France flights from Paris, an Air France spokesman said, as cited by AFP.
In reaction to US travel ban, prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said that Americans should leave Iraq, Reuters reported.
“It would be arrogance for you to enter freely Iraq and other countries while barring to them the entrance to your country... and therefore you should get your nationals out,” al-Sadr said on his website.
Protesters have joined the rally at Denver International Airport, ABC affiliate KMGH reported.
“I come in peace,” some placards read, while another said: “Refugees are welcome here.”
Hundreds of demonstrators have joined a rally at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago calling for the release of 13 people who have been detained there, ABC affiliate WLS reported.
About 300 protesters gathered at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday night, with some carrying banners reading “Refugees are welcome,” Not My President.”
Airlines operating at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport have started implementing measures in line with US travel ban, Reuters reported, citing the airport authorities.
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has taken to Facebook to slam Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ as “shameful and cruel.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has slammed the travel ban, German Der Spiegel newsmagazine reported, citing her spokesman, Steffen Seibert.
“She is convinced that even the necessary, decisive battle against terrorism does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion,” Seibert said.
The German government is going to review the consequences of the ban for German citizens with dual nationalities and will “represent their interests, if needed, vis-a-vis our US partners,” Seibert said.
“The chancellor regrets the US entry ban against refugees and citizens from several countries,” he added.
The leader of the UK’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has said that Trump should be barred from making his planned visit to the UK as long as his ‘Muslim ban’ remains in place, the Independent reported.
Some 150 protesters marched through Portland International Airport in response to Trump’s executive order, chanting “no ban, no wall,” and “no one is illegal, power to the people.”
Some 3,000 protesters have gathered at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
“Despite repeated efforts to urge protesters to disperse, police officers have been forced to make a number of arrests to maintain safe operations for passengers and employees,” read a Facebook post from the Port of Seattle, which runs Seattle’s airport.
“It’s not just against Muslims. It against environmental rights and human rights overall. I think everybody has to stand up against this,” a protester named Khalaf said, as cited by AP.
Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director of an Oscar-nominated film may not be able to attend the Academy Awards ceremony due to the ban, reports indicate. Farhadi’s film, The Salesman, has been nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
The Academy later responded to the Iranian director’s predicament.
“We find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran, A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this year’s Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin,” an Academy spokesperson said.
The Salesman star Taraneh Alidoosti told The New York Times earlier that she would be boycotting the ceremony.
“I decided not to go even if I could, because it hurts me deeply to see ordinary people of my country being rejected for what might be their legal right to have access to their children abroad or to their school classes as students,” Alidoosti said.
A number of celebrities, including famous pop singer Rihanna, have slammed Trump for signing the controversial immigration order.
Members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization, a coalition of Iran-backed Shiite paramilitary groups, has called on the government in Baghdad to ban US citizens from entering Iraq and expel those already in the country, according to a statement from Ahmed al-Assadi, the group’s spokesman, as cited by Reuters. Meanwhile, the government will ask the US to mitigate the impact of the new travel ban on Iraqis in order to preserve bilateral cooperation on anti-Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) efforts, Reuters reported.
Airlines at Cairo airport have been officially asked to prevent US immigration visa-holders from the banned countries from boarding US-bound flights, an EgyptAir official said, as cited by Reuters.
Crowds have also gathered at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, AP reported. According to Alia Salem, executive director for the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations, nine people have been detained there.
Protests erupted outside Philadelphia International Airport after two Syrian families were deported, ABC affiliate WPVI said.
28 January 2017
About 500 demonstrators gathered at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, chanting “the world is watching” and “let them see their lawyers,” while some carried signs reading “No hate. No fear. Refugees are welcomed here,” AP reported.
Protests over Trump’s order have also erupted at San Francisco International Airport, where demonstrators held up posters reading “My Grandparents Were One of the Lucky Ones” and “One Earth, One People, One Love,” while chanting: “You put a wall, we tear it down” and “Never again!”
At least 12 refugees were reportedly detained at New York City’s JFK airport on foot of the ban prompting activists to quickly organize a protest calling for the release of those refused entry into the country.
Iraqi translator and former interpreter for the US army during the 2003 invasion of Iraq Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was one of those detained, but was released after his lawyers petitioned a federal court.
Europe will have to respond to the recent moves of US president Donald Trump who adopted a controversial ‘Muslim ban’, protectionist measures and who talks of Brexit as a model for other countries, French President François Hollande said.
“When there are statements from the US president about Europe and when he talks about Brexit being a model for other countries, I think we must respond…When he refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tweeted support for President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the US border with Mexico, hailing the proposal “a great idea.”
UN agencies have issued a joint statement calling on Washington to continue letting refugees into the US.
“The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater, and the US resettlement program is one of the most important in the world,” said Saturday’s joint statement from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said flight crews from the banned states have also been prohibited from entering the US. In an email to its member airlines seen by Reuters, IATA said it had been briefed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“Much of this development has come over the weekend and at a time when IATA’s Facilitation team has been on duty travel. Unfortunately, our response has been slower than we would have preferred,” the email said, adding that “a number [of questions] have yet to be resolved.”
At least 12 refugees were reportedly detained at New York City’s JFK airport on foot of the ban prompting activists to quickly organize a protest calling for the release of those refused entry into the country.
Iraqi translator and former interpreter for the US army during the 2003 invasion of Iraq Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was one of those detained, but was released after his lawyers petitioned a federal court.
Tehran has described the US President Donald Trump’s recent order temporarily barring the citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, an “open affront” and has promised to retaliate with reciprocal measures.
“While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the U.S. government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted,” the Ministry said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
Judge Ann Donnelly of the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York has issued an emergency stay that temporarily freezes the expulsion of travelers under the newly-signed executive order by President Donald Trump.