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US airports on frontline as Trump immigration ban causes chaos and controversy US airports on frontline as Trump immigration ban causes chaos and controversy
(35 minutes later)
Donald Trump’s executive order to close America’s borders to refugees and immigrants from some Muslim-majority countries caused chaos on Saturday, as people who had flown to the US were held at airports and elsewhere others were barred from boarding planes.Donald Trump’s executive order to close America’s borders to refugees and immigrants from some Muslim-majority countries caused chaos on Saturday, as people who had flown to the US were held at airports and elsewhere others were barred from boarding planes.
As confusion reigned over what the order meant and how it would be applied, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security made a striking admission when she told Reuters people holding so-called green cards, making them legal permanent US residents, were included in the ban. As confusion reigned, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security made a striking admission when she told Reuters people holding so-called green cards, making them legal permanent US residents, were included in the ban.
“It will bar green card holders,” wrote Gillian Christensen, acting DHS spokeswoman, in an email.“It will bar green card holders,” wrote Gillian Christensen, acting DHS spokeswoman, in an email.
The order, signed on Friday in Washington, temporarily banned refugees from around the world from entering the US, blocked Syrian refugees indefinitely and placed severe restrictions on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. Members of religious minorities from those countries, however, will be granted immigration priority.
Political reaction to the order ranged across the partisan divide. On Friday, Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said: “Tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty tonight as a grand tradition of America, welcoming immigrants, that has existed since America was founded, has been stomped upon.”Political reaction to the order ranged across the partisan divide. On Friday, Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said: “Tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty tonight as a grand tradition of America, welcoming immigrants, that has existed since America was founded, has been stomped upon.”
Republican House speaker Paul Ryan countered: “Our No 1 responsibility is to protect the homeland. I support the refugee resettlement program, but it’s time to re-evaluate and strengthen the visa vetting process ... President Trump is right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country.”Republican House speaker Paul Ryan countered: “Our No 1 responsibility is to protect the homeland. I support the refugee resettlement program, but it’s time to re-evaluate and strengthen the visa vetting process ... President Trump is right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country.”
In New York City on Saturday, two Iraqi refugees who arrived on separate flights were detained at John F Kennedy airport. One, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, had worked in Iraq for the US government for 10 years. The other, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was coming to the US to join his wife who had worked for a US contractor, according to a report in the New York Times. As Trump spoke by phone to the leaders of Japan, France, Germany and Russia on Saturday, international reaction to the ban was largely negative.
Mark Doss, an attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), told the Times that he asked border agents who he needed to talk to about the men being held and was told: “Mr President, call Mr Trump.” British prime minister Theresa May, however, ducked a series of questions on the ban at a press conference with the Turkish prime minister, 24 hours after meeting Trump in Washington. Asked several times what she thought of Trump’s order, she finally replied: “The United States is responsible for the United States’ policy on refugees.”
The Iranian foreign ministry said in a statement the executive order was an “open affront against the Muslim world and the Iranian nation”. Iran will “take appropriate consular, legal and political measures”, it said.
In New York City, two Iraqi refugees who arrived on separate flights were detained at John F Kennedy airport. One, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, had worked in Iraq for the US government for 10 years. The other, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was coming to the US to join his wife who had worked for a US contractor, according to a report in the New York Times.
Mark Doss, an attorney at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), told the Times he asked border agents who he needed to talk to about the men and was told: “Mr President, call Mr Trump.”
An immigration organisation in New York City said it was dispatching an expert to the airport to try to establish how many people were being held in limbo as border agents began preventing Muslims in particular from entering the country.An immigration organisation in New York City said it was dispatching an expert to the airport to try to establish how many people were being held in limbo as border agents began preventing Muslims in particular from entering the country.
Thanu Yakupitiyage, a spokeswoman for the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Guardian: “This is absolutely dehumanising, I am livid, it’s outrageous. We are sending someone to JFK airport to speak to customs and border control about this, people are in a state of shock.”Thanu Yakupitiyage, a spokeswoman for the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Guardian: “This is absolutely dehumanising, I am livid, it’s outrageous. We are sending someone to JFK airport to speak to customs and border control about this, people are in a state of shock.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed a lawsuit challenging the detention of the two Iraqi men. An ACLU statement said: “The lead plaintiffs have been detained by the US government and threatened with deportation even though they have valid visas to enter the United States. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups filed a lawsuit challenging the detention of the two Iraqi men. An ACLU statement said: “The lead plaintiffs have been detained by the US government and threatened with deportation even though they have valid visas to enter the United States.”
“One plaintiff, for example, worked for the US military and his life was in danger in his home country due to that relationship. The other’s family was also threatened because of perceived ties to the United States.”
Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said: “President Trump’s war on equality is already taking a terrible human toll. This ban cannot be allowed to continue.”Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said: “President Trump’s war on equality is already taking a terrible human toll. This ban cannot be allowed to continue.”
The order, signed on Friday afternoon in Washington, temporarily banned refugees from around the world from entering the US, blocked Syrian refugees indefinitely and placed severe restrictions on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. Members of religious minorities from those countries, however, will be granted immigration priority. The details of how the executive order would work were not immediately clear, and officials in airports overseas and in the US appeared to err on the side of caution, interpreting the order in an extreme fashion.
The details of how the executive order would work were not immediately made clear, and officials in airports overseas and in the US appeared to err on the side of caution, interpreting the order in an extreme fashion.
It was reported that seven migrants, escorted by officials from the United Nations refugee agency, were prevented from boarding a flight to New York from Egypt after authorities at Cairo airport contacted their counterparts at JFK.It was reported that seven migrants, escorted by officials from the United Nations refugee agency, were prevented from boarding a flight to New York from Egypt after authorities at Cairo airport contacted their counterparts at JFK.
“This executive order makes the US isolationist and cruel. We will be doing whatever we can with our legal partners to push back on this. It’s religious discrimination and this will not make America safer,” said Yakupitiyage of the NYIC. Ali Abdi, an Iranian with permanent residency in the US, wrote on Facebook that he was in limbo in Dubai, where his visa would soon run out. He was unable to go to Iran because he has been outspoken about human rights violations there, he wrote, and was now unable to return to the US.
“I am an Iranian PhD student of anthropology in the US,” Abdi wrote. “Doing fieldwork is the defining method of our discipline. I left New York on 22 January, two days after [Trump] was sworn in. Now in Dubai, waiting for the issuance of my visa to enter Afghanistan to carry out the ethnographic research.”
He added: “The language of the racist executive order [Trump] just signed is ambiguous, but it is likely to prevent permanent residents like me from returning to the country where I am a student, where I have to defend my thesis.
“This is just one story among thousands.”
Yakupitiyage of the NYIC said: “This executive order makes the US isolationist and cruel. We will be doing whatever we can with our legal partners to push back on this. It’s religious discrimination and this will not make America safer.”
It was unclear exactly how many people were being questioned or barred from entering the US at American airports. Yakupitiyage said she had also heard of a case at Atlanta airport, in Georgia.It was unclear exactly how many people were being questioned or barred from entering the US at American airports. Yakupitiyage said she had also heard of a case at Atlanta airport, in Georgia.
An Iraqi journalist living in the US, Mohammed al-Rawi, posted on Facebook that his father had been turned away from a flight in Qatar bound for Los Angeles. An Iraqi journalist living in the US, Mohammed al-Rawi, posted on Facebook that his father had been turned away from a flight in Qatar bound for Los Angeles. It was reported that Air Canada had advised people from the seven countries concerned not to board flights to the US, whether or not they held a green card.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) will file its own lawsuit against the order on Monday, arguing that it violates the US constitution.The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) will file its own lawsuit against the order on Monday, arguing that it violates the US constitution.
“These detentions appear to be targeting the Muslim community,” Cair national legal director Lena Masri told the Guardian. “We have particular concern for green card holders who are out of the country right now, about whether they are going to be allowed back in. This is clearly unconstitutional.”“These detentions appear to be targeting the Muslim community,” Cair national legal director Lena Masri told the Guardian. “We have particular concern for green card holders who are out of the country right now, about whether they are going to be allowed back in. This is clearly unconstitutional.”
Republican support for Trump’s action was not without exception. Former vice-president Dick Cheney, a staunch conservative, rejected the ban.Republican support for Trump’s action was not without exception. Former vice-president Dick Cheney, a staunch conservative, rejected the ban.
Speaking on a radio show a few days before Trump signed the executive order, he said: “I think this whole notion that somehow we can just say ‘no more Muslims’, just ban a whole religion, goes against everything we stand for and believe in.Speaking on a radio show a few days before Trump signed the executive order, he said: “I think this whole notion that somehow we can just say ‘no more Muslims’, just ban a whole religion, goes against everything we stand for and believe in.
“I mean, religious freedom has been a very important part of our history and where we came from.”“I mean, religious freedom has been a very important part of our history and where we came from.”