Hundreds showed up at SFO and elsewhere Saturday to protest President Trump's executive order on immigrants from seven primarily Muslim nations, which had led to detentions of innocent people at airports nationwide who were trying to enter the country legally. As of 9 p.m. Eastern, a federal judge in Brooklyn sided with lawyers from the ACLU and stayed Trump's order, and national director of the organization Anthony Romero gave the speech above celebrating the judge's decision.
In a statement to reporters, Romero said, "Clearly the judge understood the possibility for irreparable harm to hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to this country. 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."
As the Atlantic reports, "Dozens of immigration lawyers went to airports to assist refugees and visa holders, many of whom have been detained and questioned by authorities. The New York Taxi Workers Alliance also released statements decrying the ban and calling on its workers to strike in solidarity of the protesters, noting their membership is “largely Muslim” and “almost universally immigrant."
SF Mayor Ed Lee issued his own statement:
I commend the judge that granted the emergency stay today, allowing seven Muslim immigrants with valid visas to enter the United States.
As the son of Chinese immigrants, I am disgusted by the President’s Executive Order to target the Muslim community and ban immigrants from entering the United States.
Our country was built by immigrants in search of religious freedom and a life free of persecution and violence. These actions of are a direct betrayal of those American values.
We cannot turn our backs on those looking for a better, safer life for themselves and their children. Now is the time to be firm in our values of inclusion, compassion and liberty for all. In San Francisco, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Muslim and immigrant communities and promise to continue to lift the lamp for all those in search of a better life.
Previously: Google CEO Sundar Pichai Calls Trump's Ban On Immigration 'Painful'; Zuckerberg Says He's 'Concerned'
