Protests erupted outside of John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York on Saturday, as border agents detained refugees who landed after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning travelers from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
At least 11 were still in holding after one man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an interpreter who worked for the U.S. government in Iraq, was released following 19 hours of detention.
“What I do for this country? They put the cuffs on,” Darweesh said after his release, standing outside the airport, surrounded by lawyers and beginning to cry. “You know how many soldiers I touch by this hand?”
Protesters chanted, “Let them in,” and “This is what America looks like.” They held signs that read, “No Ban, No Wall,” and “Refugees welcome.” The crowd swelled quickly as reports of the detentions—which extended to green card holders returning from overseas—spread.
Immigration officials at JFK told the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that there was no reason to hold Darweesh and another visa-holder, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, other than Trump’s executive order.
The memorandum bans refugees from Syria indefinitely and puts a 90-day block on those from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen.
“President Trump’s war on equality is already taking a terrible human toll. This ban cannot be allowed to continue,” said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
According to Trita Parsi, founder and president of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), green card holders “were handcuffed, their social media was reviewed, and they were asked their views on Trump.”
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