Protests against Trump’s bans on visas and refugees mount in USA

Protests against US president Donald Trump’s curbs on visas and refugees from a number of Middle East and Africa countries mounted during the past week-end, as thousands gathered at airports in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and elsewhere, calling the presidential directive unconstitutional. Judges in several states that are home to the country’s most important international airports, including Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington, condemned the directive in a joint statement that came on the heels of a decision by New York’s attorney general to suspend enforcement of the ban for 90 days. Last Friday, President Trump put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a three-month bar on nationals of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Immediately upon his signing of the order, dozens of the banned countries’ nationals travelling to the US were detained at airports. In one case reported by Reuters, five citizens of Iraq and one Yemen national were prevented from getting on board their flight to New York in the Cairo airport. Several international organizations and country leaders have criticized Trump’s executive order. Canada’s Justin Trudeau said his country was ready to take in those detained in US airports. Angela Merkel of Germany and Theresa May of Great Britain, too, spoke against the measures, as did the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and International Organization for Migration.