A San Francisco supervisor made an emergency trip to SFO late Wednesday night after learning that two Palestinian men with valid visas who had traveled here to speak at interfaith events around the Bay were being denied entry to the US.

SF Supervisor Bilal Mahmood posted his "urgent message out of SFO" at 11:55 pm Wednesday, with a video standing beside two Palestinian men, whose names are being withheld out of fear of retaliation. The men reportedly flew from the West Bank and landed in San Francisco at 1 pm Wednesday, with plans to speak at several Christian churches and at the progressive Kehilla Community Synogogue in Piedmont, all of which have supported their village, which has been under attack by Israeli settlers.

Kehilla had sponsored the men's trip, and put out an alert that the men had been detained, were being denied entry to the country by US Customs and Border Protection, and their visas were being invalidated. As Mission Local reports, the men were still in custody at SFO as of 8 am Thursday and were told they were being sent back to the Middle East.

"If people are coming here with valid visas and immigration papers and even they are being turned away … what does this mean for the rest of the residents who live in San Francisco and the country?" Mahmood tells Mission Local in an interview. "This is another example of an escalating constitutional crisis in our country."

Kehilla Community Synogogue had a meet-and-greet with the men planned for Friday. Their homepage includes instructions for immigrants encountering ICE agents and a statement about being a Synogogue for Ceasefire pushing for the "unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance in Gaza."

"Say hello to two Palestinians from the West Bank who have spoken at Kehilla services via Zoom," the event listing says. "An artist and an English teacher, they are cousins. Hear their stories of loss and steadfastness in Masafer Yatta in the hills south of Hebron."

The situation at SFO has attracted protesters, with the Chronicle reporting that around two dozen had arrived as of 10 am Thursday.

"Everything about their visit was straightforward above-board,” says immigration attorney Peter Weintraub, a member of the synogogue who was helping coordinate the visit, speaking to Mission Local. "Cultivating relationships between Christians and Jewish and Palestinian community, which seems to be a rather laudable, wonderful thing."

As Weintraub adds, in a statement to the Chronicle about the men, "They’re known, wonderful folks, coming over to connect, promote interfaith connection between Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities. They’re trying to survive and live in peace."

Per the Chronicle, Bay Area faith leaders are calling on the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to "stop targeting Palestinian travelers" and to release the men so they can continue on their interfaith exchange mission.