A Crowd Gathered Outside JFK Airport To Protest The Detainment Of Refugees Under Trump’s Immigration Ban

On Saturday afternoon, a crowd assembled at NYC’s JFK International Airport to protest President Trump’s executive order calling for a temporary ban on refugee entry from several Muslim-majority countries. This immediately resulted in the detainment of several refugees, visa holders, and even two Iraqis with U.S. Army ties. Now, the throng of protesters outside of Terminal 4 is demanding to see the refugees and chanting, “Let them in!”

The refugees have been detained indefinitely, but the crowd is vowing to go nowhere. On Twitter, Michael Moore has urged local followers to join suit.

Moore later claimed that the protest grew to include thousands of people.

Trump’s call for new screening procedures and a “realignment” of refugee entry guidelines includes a religious test that gives priority to Christian refugees over Muslims. On Saturday, House Speaker Paul Ryan tried to extinguish some of the outrage while insisting that this is not a ban on Muslims. Well, some people think it sure looks like one.

Many protesters outside JFK are waving signs of support (and messages of welcome) for the detained refugees. Some signs also protest the impending construction of Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall.

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Catfish star Nev Shulman is on hand to join the protest.

Attendance continues to swell for the protest.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance has taken the step of halting service to JFK as a form of protest.

A 6:00pm vigil (also outside the JFK airport) for the refugees is currently being organized on social media.

UPDATE: Crowds have also gathered in protest outside Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Dulles International. The crowd at Dulles were joined by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe who called for the state’s Attorney General to help those detained at the airport:

Protests were also reportedly scheduled for other airports around the country, including LAX, Seattle, and Boston.

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(Via New York Times, The Hill & Jezebel)