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Version 19 Version 20
Protests spread over Trump travel ban on Muslim majority countries – live Protests spread over Trump travel ban on Muslim majority countries – live
(35 minutes later)
8.04pm GMT
20:04
Lauren Gambino
From Guardian reporter Lauren Gambino at the anti-travel ban rally outside the White House:
Hundreds of protesters with American flags, homemade signs and placards from last weekend’s women’s march are walking down Pennsylvania Ave toward the White House chanting: Shame.
Protesters are reacting to the executive orders signed by the new president Donald Trump this week to start building a wall along the southern border and a draconian measure to halt immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The impromptu rally follows similar scenes at airports around the country, where green card holders were detained and barred from entering.
Boos rang out and a number of middle fingers went up as the marchers in DC passed Trump international hotel along Pennsylvania Ave, chanting “refugees are welcome here”.
8.00pm GMT
20:00
Custom and border agents defying federal judges order, say attorneys
Edward Helmore
Customs and Border Protection agents defied the orders of federal judges regarding Donald Trump’s travel bans on Sunday, according to attorneys who rallied popular protests around the country in support of detained refugees and travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries.
“Rogue customs and Border Patrol agents continue to try to get people on to planes,” Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, told reporters on Sunday. “A lot of people have been handcuffed, a lot of people who don’t speak English are being coerced into taking involuntary departures.”
Agents told attorneys “it’s not going to happen” at Dulles international airport in Virginia on Sunday, as they tried to see detainees, according to Damon Silvers, special counsel at AFL-CIO, one of the legal groups trying to help visa holders in detention or threatened with deportation. Late Saturday night, federal judges in New York, Virginia and Massachusetts ordered a temporary halt to the president’s deportation of people who had arrived in the US with valid visas.
7.54pm GMT7.54pm GMT
19:5419:54
The USA men’s soccer captain, Michael Bradley, has attacked Donald Trump’s executive order, which bans travel to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries.The USA men’s soccer captain, Michael Bradley, has attacked Donald Trump’s executive order, which bans travel to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries.
When Trump won the presidential election in November, Bradley said it was important “to give our president support”. However, Trump’s latest decision caused Bradley to speak out in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl and then on his Instagram page.When Trump won the presidential election in November, Bradley said it was important “to give our president support”. However, Trump’s latest decision caused Bradley to speak out in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl and then on his Instagram page.
“A few hours ago ago I gave an interview to Grant Wahl,” wrote Bradley, who has made more than 125 appearances for the men’s national team.“A few hours ago ago I gave an interview to Grant Wahl,” wrote Bradley, who has made more than 125 appearances for the men’s national team.
Read the rest of the story here.Read the rest of the story here.
7.43pm GMT7.43pm GMT
19:4319:43
The Iranian-born BBC reporter who was stopped at immigration today upon arriving at a US airport today, Ali Hamedani, has been allowed to enter - but had his phone and computer searched.The Iranian-born BBC reporter who was stopped at immigration today upon arriving at a US airport today, Ali Hamedani, has been allowed to enter - but had his phone and computer searched.
All done! They've interviewed, searched my bag, searched my phone and computer and let me in after 2 hours. He said I can come back anytime.All done! They've interviewed, searched my bag, searched my phone and computer and let me in after 2 hours. He said I can come back anytime.
7.40pm GMT7.40pm GMT
19:4019:40
Reporters Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Cathy Otten, Alice Ross and Kareem Shaheen have been collecting stories from people all over the world affected by the ban:Reporters Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Cathy Otten, Alice Ross and Kareem Shaheen have been collecting stories from people all over the world affected by the ban:
Employee of an international airline at Dubai airportEmployee of an international airline at Dubai airport
We’ve had no written instructions yet from the US, at least not on the frontline, and the instructions that we have received don’t mention dual nationality or green cards – it’s very unclear what to do.We’ve had no written instructions yet from the US, at least not on the frontline, and the instructions that we have received don’t mention dual nationality or green cards – it’s very unclear what to do.
Some people are being stopped, while others are being given the benefit of the doubt. So if, for example, a passenger is Syrian holding a US passport we’re turning a blind eye – we’re pretending we haven’t seen the Syrian passport.Some people are being stopped, while others are being given the benefit of the doubt. So if, for example, a passenger is Syrian holding a US passport we’re turning a blind eye – we’re pretending we haven’t seen the Syrian passport.
One passenger stuck in the airport here is a Syrian green card holder who was denied boarding. Her family, her job, her whole life is in the US and when she asks us when we will allow her to go home, none of us know what to say. Unfortunately because she’s Syrian it’s difficult for her to get a visa for Dubai and it’s difficult for her to go elsewhere.One passenger stuck in the airport here is a Syrian green card holder who was denied boarding. Her family, her job, her whole life is in the US and when she asks us when we will allow her to go home, none of us know what to say. Unfortunately because she’s Syrian it’s difficult for her to get a visa for Dubai and it’s difficult for her to go elsewhere.
At the moment her chances of getting into the US depend on which airport she goes to. If she’s landing in New York they’ll send her back, if it’s Houston they might accept her – what we’ve found is it really depends on which shift is operating; it’s not even a standard airport policy.At the moment her chances of getting into the US depend on which airport she goes to. If she’s landing in New York they’ll send her back, if it’s Houston they might accept her – what we’ve found is it really depends on which shift is operating; it’s not even a standard airport policy.
Last I heard they were trying any airport as long as she gets to US soil, and then at least once she’s there she can create a legal challenge or manage her way in instead of being stuck in Dubai.Last I heard they were trying any airport as long as she gets to US soil, and then at least once she’s there she can create a legal challenge or manage her way in instead of being stuck in Dubai.
Read other stories from individuals affected by the Trump travel ban here.Read other stories from individuals affected by the Trump travel ban here.
7.24pm GMT7.24pm GMT
19:2419:24
McCain and Graham: Trump's travel ban helps terroristsMcCain and Graham: Trump's travel ban helps terrorists
Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham released a joint statement condemning the Trump’s travel ban executive order, declaring it “not properly vetted” and saying it will likely aide terrorist groups by telling people that the US shuns Muslims.Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham released a joint statement condemning the Trump’s travel ban executive order, declaring it “not properly vetted” and saying it will likely aide terrorist groups by telling people that the US shuns Muslims.
The statement reads:The statement reads:
Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.
It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump’s executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump’s executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.
Such a hasty process risks harmful results. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children.Such a hasty process risks harmful results. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children.
Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.
UpdatedUpdated
at 7.26pm GMTat 7.26pm GMT
7.17pm GMT7.17pm GMT
19:1719:17
This just in from Sabrina Siddiqui, a Guardian reporter at the DC protest:This just in from Sabrina Siddiqui, a Guardian reporter at the DC protest:
Shinee the dog, who is originally from Korea, is here to protest pic.twitter.com/750EpfueEGShinee the dog, who is originally from Korea, is here to protest pic.twitter.com/750EpfueEG
7.11pm GMT7.11pm GMT
19:1119:11
Thousands rally at anti-travel ban protests across the nationThousands rally at anti-travel ban protests across the nation
Thousands of people are now attending rallies in cities across the country.Thousands of people are now attending rallies in cities across the country.
A rally in Battery Park, in lower Manhattan, New York City, has just begun:A rally in Battery Park, in lower Manhattan, New York City, has just begun:
Lotta ppl at battery park #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/P4R7NNIMlsLotta ppl at battery park #NoBanNoWall pic.twitter.com/P4R7NNIMls
The official NYC subway account has been tweeting subway updates in anticipation of the large crowds:The official NYC subway account has been tweeting subway updates in anticipation of the large crowds:
If you are heading to the protest at Battery Park, be sure to fill up your MetroCard before you go to avoid lines in crowded stations.If you are heading to the protest at Battery Park, be sure to fill up your MetroCard before you go to avoid lines in crowded stations.
Hundreds gather on the steps of the Rhode Island state house in Providence, RI.Hundreds gather on the steps of the Rhode Island state house in Providence, RI.
The crowd has grown in size here at RI State House pic.twitter.com/YdfO6tOQKyThe crowd has grown in size here at RI State House pic.twitter.com/YdfO6tOQKy
Boston’s Copley Square looks full:Boston’s Copley Square looks full:
View from Sky 7 of the protest in Copley Square right now -- in opposition to President Trump's exec orders: pic.twitter.com/j0Gmn1zJtyView from Sky 7 of the protest in Copley Square right now -- in opposition to President Trump's exec orders: pic.twitter.com/j0Gmn1zJty
A crowd of a few hundred students have gathered to protest in the scenic grounds of the University of Virginia:A crowd of a few hundred students have gathered to protest in the scenic grounds of the University of Virginia:
Protest at the university of Virginia sponsored by the Minority Rights Coalition happening now #resist @ambiej pic.twitter.com/IFF6G5yt7tProtest at the university of Virginia sponsored by the Minority Rights Coalition happening now #resist @ambiej pic.twitter.com/IFF6G5yt7t
Large crowds also gathered outside the White House in DC:Large crowds also gathered outside the White House in DC:
#nomuslimban rally in front of White House pic.twitter.com/wGmHEhvTCF#nomuslimban rally in front of White House pic.twitter.com/wGmHEhvTCF
Are you at a anti-travel ban rally? Please tweet photos, news and video from the rallies to me at @ambiej.Are you at a anti-travel ban rally? Please tweet photos, news and video from the rallies to me at @ambiej.
6.57pm GMT6.57pm GMT
18:5718:57
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy promises to introduce a bill to overturn Trump’s executive order this week, although since Congress and the Senate are both Republican controlled it has very little to no chance of passing.Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy promises to introduce a bill to overturn Trump’s executive order this week, although since Congress and the Senate are both Republican controlled it has very little to no chance of passing.
The law is clear. The #MuslimBan is illegal. I will introduce a bill this week to immediately overturn this dangerous, hateful order.The law is clear. The #MuslimBan is illegal. I will introduce a bill this week to immediately overturn this dangerous, hateful order.
6.39pm GMT6.39pm GMT
18:3918:39
The president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, emailed all staff and students of the university last night speaking out against Trump’s travel ban, noting the impact it will have on the academic community. While it seems no Columbia University staff have been caught up so far, many other academics and students from other universities have been amongst those stopped from entering.The president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, emailed all staff and students of the university last night speaking out against Trump’s travel ban, noting the impact it will have on the academic community. While it seems no Columbia University staff have been caught up so far, many other academics and students from other universities have been amongst those stopped from entering.
In the email published at Columbia Spectator, Bollinger wrote:In the email published at Columbia Spectator, Bollinger wrote:
An estimated 17,000 international students in the U.S. are from the seven nations covered by the entry ban. Scholars planning to travel to the United States for meetings and conferences at our colleges and universities will effectively be barred from attending. If this order stands, there is the certainty of a profound impact on our University community, which is committed to welcoming students, faculty, and staff from around the world, as well as across the nation.An estimated 17,000 international students in the U.S. are from the seven nations covered by the entry ban. Scholars planning to travel to the United States for meetings and conferences at our colleges and universities will effectively be barred from attending. If this order stands, there is the certainty of a profound impact on our University community, which is committed to welcoming students, faculty, and staff from around the world, as well as across the nation.
As I have said on many occasions, it is critically important that the University, as such, not take stands on ideological or political issues. Yet it is also true that the University, as an institution in the society, must step forward to object when policies and state action conflict with its fundamental values, and especially when they bespeak purposes and a mentality that are at odds with our basic mission. This is such a case.As I have said on many occasions, it is critically important that the University, as such, not take stands on ideological or political issues. Yet it is also true that the University, as an institution in the society, must step forward to object when policies and state action conflict with its fundamental values, and especially when they bespeak purposes and a mentality that are at odds with our basic mission. This is such a case.
6.30pm GMT
18:30
Alice Ross
Reporter Alice Ross has been speaking to people affected by the travel ban, and people suddenly being cut off from those they love is a recurrent theme.
She spoke to a gay US citizen who was tantalizingly close to being able to bring his Iranian fiancé to the US:
I am a US citizen by birth and a gay male. When travelling in Iran as a tourist I met a Kurdish Iranian, also a gay male and we fell in love. I applied for a K1 Fiancé Visa and my petition was approved. Last November we travelled to Turkey where my fiancé had his interview at the US Embassy in Ankara. After two months of processing and vetting the visa was approved three days before President Trump took office.
When I heard the news about the executive order, I wanted to vomit. If my fiancé stays in Iran he will never be able to live freely and could be executed for his sexual orientation.
Our concern is that we’re going to miss the window of opportunity to get the visa - we only have until mid-April - which would mean we’d have to begin the process all over again. It’s so frustrating because we thought we’d made it, that we’d actually succeeded in demonstrating to the government that we had a legitimate relationship…
We were celebrating. We were to meet in Istanbul in March, send his passport to the embassy to get the visa, and enjoy some time together in Turkey before he finishes his Masters. Then he was going to fly here and it was going to be a happy ever after kind of story. And now the whole bottom has dropped out of everything.
6.19pm GMT
18:19
An Iranian-born BBC reporter is currently stuck in immigration in Chicago airport, and is posting updates on Twitter about being taken to a waiting room.
The border offices has not mentioned anything just invited me to a waiting room and took away my passport. Waiting...
يك خانم با پاسپورت ايراني و گرين كارت هم اينجاست. An Iranian lady is also here. Iranian passport and green card
6.17pm GMT
18:17
Boston anti-travel ban rally begins with huge crowds
Hundreds of people already in Copley Square, Boston, for a rally against the travel ban executive order.
From a WBUR (Boston’s NPR affiliate) reporter:
Copley Square in Boston, marching against POTUS' exec order on immigration ban. # pic.twitter.com/soat8ab3Y9
From a Boston Globe reporter:
Orange Line is packed as Bostonians head to protest Trump's #MuslimBan. pic.twitter.com/BdVUMXmWFj
A local TV network is flying over the rally, with live video showing huge crowds and packed streets. The rally started at 1pm.
6.03pm GMT
18:03
Earlier on Sunday Trump spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway falsely told Fox News Sunday that Saturday night’s stay decision by a New York federal judge “doesn’t really affect the executive order”.
“The judge in Brooklyn, the Obama appointee judge in Brooklyn’s stay of order really doesn’t affect the executive order at all, because the executive order is meant to be prospective,” she told host Chris Wallace.
“It’s preventing not detaining,” she said.
Not all aspects of the executive order are covered by the Brooklyn judge’s decision, but it does stop deportations.
She also said she understood what it was like to be stopped at airports but that it was a small price to pay for national security.
“I was stopped many times ... after 9/11,” she said. “I didn’t resemble, or share a name with, or be part of any kind of terrorist conspiracy, but this is what we do to keep a nation safe.”
Just remember that Conway is a blonde white US-born American woman.
Updated
at 6.36pm GMT
5.39pm GMT
17:39
Nesrine Malik
Nesrine Malik, a Sudanese-born writer who lives in London, writes about the personal impact of the travel ban:
I now cannot travel to the US, a country I visit frequently and in which I have work interests, close family and dear friends. It is a curious feeling, a new feeling. One that collapses space-time and connects you to all those before you who have found themselves on the ugly end of a collective insanity. It is a feeling that rocks the very ground on which you thought we all stood.
Suddenly, all certainties look shaky. Residencies, passports, green cards, jobs, mortgages, friends, marriages – all the things you thought fortified you against the mobilisation of state machinery – dissolve. You are only a Muslim. And what does that mean? It is a tag that defies definition, becoming more elusive the more you try to pin it down. I was reminded of a scene from a dramatisation of Roots author Alex Haley’s life, when he, dressed proudly in his US Coast Guard uniform and sporting his medals, confidently asks for a hotel room for the night for him and his wife. When he is refused one for being black, he returns to his car enraged – not at those who denied him but at himself for thinking he was exempt. “All they saw was a monkey.”
Read the rest here.
5.36pm GMT
17:36
Kim Kardashian, who backed Hillary Clinton during the election, is also getting politically involved with the travel ban by tweeting statistics to her 49 million followers.
Statistics pic.twitter.com/aSpyFuabct
5.31pm GMT
17:31
From Guardian US data editor Mona Chalabi:
5.24pm GMT
17:24
John McCain: "very concerned" travel ban helps Isis
Senator John McCain spoke publicly about his concern that Trump’s travel ban could aid Islamic State by giving it more reasons to encourage its supporters to fight against the US.
“I think the effect will probably in some areas give Isis some more propaganda,” McCain said in an interview with CBS’s Face the Nation.
McCain, chair of the Senate armed services committee and a Republican from Arizona, added that he was “very concerned about our effect on the Iraqis right now”.
He noted that former CIA director David Petraeus is “very concerned” for local translators who worked for the US military, who often do the job specifically in the hope of receiving a visa to the US.
After the travel ban, a former military translator, Iraqi Hameed Khalid Darweesh, was among those stopped at JFK airport this weekend and initially refused entry.
Updated
at 6.33pm GMT
5.07pm GMT
17:07
With thousands expected at protests around the country against Trump’s executive order...
Movie update! Trump will be hosting staff and family in the White House Family Theater this afternoon for a screening of Finding Dory.
Updated
at 6.13pm GMT
4.58pm GMT
16:58
Wondering if your senator backs or criticizes the travel ban executive order?
This Google document shows listssenators alphabetically, noting whether they have opposed or remained silent to the ban, any link or public statement about it and the dates they will be up for re-election.
It also includes contact information, such as their office address, phone number and online contact details.
The document shows, for example, Senator Jeff Flake from Arizona, a Republican, has spoken out publicly against the ban, while Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, has made no statement.
Updated
at 6.14pm GMT