SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 29, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — As thousands of concerned citizens protested President Donald Trump’s immigration bans at major coastal airports on Saturday, a relatively small group of Utahns did the same at Salt Lake International Airport.
The Utah group, which gathered in Terminal 2, numbered about 200 protesters at its strongest. Officials said no immigrants from the seven countries targeted by Trump arrived or were detained at Salt Lake International.
Still, sentiments were strong.
“Back in June of 2008, I came as a refugee,” said protester Mohammed Abd. “I left all my life in Iraq, I saw the war, I saw what was going on. It was terrifying, a scary thing, so I came here as a refugee.
“I feel safe, so I am trying to give the same opportunity to the people coming on the plane to come over, trying to find a haven, trying to find a secure place,” he said. “So I came to just support the people.”
Late Friday afternoon, Trump signed an executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — from entering the United States. The order bars citizens of those countries from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days. It also suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days.
Trump said the order’s intent was “to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States.”
But when Trump signed the order late Friday afternoon, an untold number of travelers targeted by the ban were already in transit. When they arrived with valid visas at U.S. destination airports, they were not allowed to leave and faced deportation.
As travelers were detained at airports in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Tacoma, San Francisco and Chicago, word spread and public protests began to grow in each city.
On Saturday evening, a federal judge in Brooklyn ordered a temporary injunction against Trump’s executive order.
Sending travelers home could cause them “irreparable harm,” said Judge Ann Donnelly, in making her ruling. Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, had argued the case.
“This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed off U.S. soil,” Gelernt said.
ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero shared his reaction to the ruling:
“Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country,” Romero said in a statement released by the ACLU.
“Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders. On week one, Donald Trump suffered his first loss in court.” Read the full court decision by clicking here.
At the Salt Lake City airport, Abd talked about his family.
“I have two daughters, five and a half and almost six months,” he said. “My wife is American. I came with my dad, my mom, my sister, my two brothers. But one sister is still over there. I tried to apply for her visa, and two days ago Catholic Community Services said they don’t think she can come over. It’s heartbreaking.
“This is a land built by immigrants. Everybody has the right to come over to this land to live better lives, to have freedom, to dream.”
Abd’s friend, Ahmed Hadi, gained citizenship and applied for a visa so his mother could meet her two grandchildren.
“She’s like 63 years old,” Hadi said. “I got it for her, I already bought a ticket. She’s supposed to be here Feb. 28, but now she’s not going to make it. She’s not going to take a 13-, 14-hour flight to New York and be turned away to go back home. It’s not worth it.”
Angela Abd, Mohammed’s wife, said Trump is not even targeting the right countries since recent terrorist attacks were by people with ties to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Those counties are still open, so what’s the real message?” she said. “What’s really going on? Terrorism can’t be the real reason; that’s not where the terrorists are coming from.
“It’s just a scare tactic, and it’s affecting all these families,” she said. “People are just trying to find somewhere to be where they can be safe. It’s so sad.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, released a statement on Friday:
“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,” Schumer said.
“Taking in immigrants and refugees is not only humanitarian but has also boosted our economy and created jobs decade after decade. This is one of the most backward and nasty executive orders that the president has issued.”
