US protests grow against Donald Trump's immigration ban

Protests continue for a second day after dozens of travellers and immigrants are detained at US airports since Friday.

Protests against right-wing US President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and immigrants from several Muslim-majority countries have been held in cities across the United States, including in New York City and Washington, DC. 

In the US capital, thousands gathered outside the White House, while more than 1,000 protesters assembled in New York City’s Battery Park to demonstrate against Trump’s executive order, which places harsh restrictions on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. 

Speaking to Al Jazeera in Battery Park, Hizam Mohammed Saleh, a 45-year-old of Yemeni descent, said: “I came here because I want peace for everyone, for the immigration law to be the same for everyone.” 

Jessica Taube, 37, brought her children to the protest. “I don’t believe in borders. We’re all humans and we all share the same world and deserve a place to be happy and healthy,” she told Al Jazeera. 

“I have my kids here because I want them to learn that … In this era of Trump, that’s what is going to save us – community.” 

Protests also gripped Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Boise, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, San Francisco and other cities across the country. 

A day earlier, thousands of protesters amassed at airports across the country as news spread that immigrants and travellers were being detained there. Among those held were legal residents who carry US green cards. 

Demonstrators only dispersed when a federal judge blocked part of Trump’s executive order on immigration, ruling that travellers who have already landed in the US with valid visas should not be sent back to their home countries.

Lawyers had filed a legal case in response to the order that includes a 90-day entry ban on citizens of Syria, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Libya and Yemen. 

US District Judge Ann Donnelly’s ruling late on Saturday concerns dozens of people who were held at airports following Trump’s actions. The total number of people held was unclear. 

Some reports said immigration authorities were still implementing the ban sporadically in a number of airports. 

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