Thousands Protest Muslim Ban and Win its Temporary Hold

January 28th, 2017 - This past weekend, after Trump announced a "Muslim Ban" executive order restricting entry of individuals coming from 7 Muslim majority countries, DRUM and other immigrant rights groups in New York City, including New York Immigration Coalition and Make the Road NY, mobilized thousands and occupied John F. Kennedy International Airport where immigrants were being detained. International airports across the country held similar actions. People gathered throughout the day on Saturday, January 28 at terminal 4 where immigrants were being detained and quickly spread to masses of people occupying every terminal and taking over the streets. We were joined by lawyers stationed inside fighting the detainees cases', incoming travelers stopping by the protests right after disembarking their planes, airport staff helping communicate on the inside, and the New York Taxi workers Alliance who stopped pickups for an hour in solidarity. Thanks to the the presence of the crowd to amplify the lawsuit filed by ACLU, a federal court in Brooklyn ruled to temporarily halt Trump's executive order.

People continued to gather on Sunday after reports of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) failing to comply by the federal court's order and continuing to harass, detain and attempt to deport people. Once again, the presence of masses of people at JFK, as well as another action of 30 thousand in lower Manhattan, won the release of nearly all detainees.
For now the Muslim Ban is on hold, and we continue to cede no ground to policies of hate. Follow @noBanJFK for updates on lawyers helping those detained at JFK.