NEW YORK -- Protesters
gathered outside John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on
Saturday demanding the release of refugees blocked from entering the
United States.
“We Are All Immigrants,” read one sign held by a protester.
“Let Them In,” read another.
Others read: “Refugees Welcome,” “Disobey” and “Resist.”
The protest at JFK was organized within hours of reports that people were being detained.
Congressman
Jerry Nadler, D-New York, said 12 people were detained at the New York
airport. Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a former translator for the U.S.
military in Iraq, was held for hours before being released.
“They treat me as though I break the rules or did something wrong,” Darweesh said. “I was surprised.”
He also said, “America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world.”
Darweesh
worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in
2003. Later he was a contract engineer for the U.S. He was granted
permission to relocate to the U.S., but was detained along with another
traveler from Iraq after arriving at Kennedy Airport Friday night.
The protest took place a day after President Trump signed an executive order that made changes to America’s refugee and immigration policies.
It placed a temporary hold on any refugees entering the U.S. for 120
days, an indefinite hold on the entry of Syrian refugees fleeing the war
in their country and a 90-day hold on entry by citizens of seven
Muslim-majority countries: Syria, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Sudan, Somalia and
Yemen.
Senior administration officials told CBS News that green
card holders from the seven listed countries will be evaluated on a
case-by-case basis to determine if they can enter the U.S.
Protesters
assemble at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York,
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 after two Iraqi refugees were detained while
trying to enter the country.
Craig Ruttle, AP
“This
really is an extraordinary measure and it requires every ounce of
opposition that we can muster,” said Albert Cahn, director of Strategic
Litigation at the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations.
A crowd also gathered on Saturday at Washington Dulles
International Airport in Virginia, CBS News transportation correspondent
Kris Van Cleave reported.
By early Saturday evening, the crowd continued to grow, as
did police presence. A number of lawyers at the airport offered to help
families if their loved ones aren’t allowed into the U.S.
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