Protesters gather to denounce President Donald Trump’s executive order that bans certain immigration, at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on January 28, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Getty)
Border Patrol officials are defying a federal judge’s stay on President Donald Trump’s immigration executive order, attorneys representing Muslim travelers detained at U.S. airports.
U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly granted the stay requested by attorneys from the ACLU in a late-night court session in Brooklyn on Saturday, ordering a halt to deportations of refugees and valid visa-holders from being deported.
She did not rule on the legality of Trump’s immigration order, which blocks immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days, and immigration from Syria indefinitely. Travelers from those countries, some who were refugees who had completed the process to immigrate to the United States and others legal visa-holders, including permanent residents, were turned away at airports or detained upon arrival in America.
Donnelly was not the only federal judge to rule on the immgration order, which is being called a “Muslim ban” by opponents. Two federal judges in Boston issued a 7-day stay, a judge in Virginia gave a similar order. Donnelly’s ruling was set to apply nationwide.
By Sunday, as thousands continued to protest at airports and elsewhere in cities across the U.S., some of the dozens of detainees had been released, while others were deported or were kept in detention. But volunteer attorneys fighting against the executive order say Border Patrol and Homeland Security are not following the judicial directives.
Here’s what you need to know:
Attorneys at Dulles & Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Say They Have Been Denied Access to Detainees
Attorneys at both Washington Dulles Airport in Virginia and Dallas-Fort Worth Airport in Texas have reported they are being denied access to detainees. They say Judge Donnelly’s ruling allows the detainees to have legal representation.
Damon Silvers, policy director for the AFL-CIO, said Border Patrol agents told attorneys at Dulles it is “not going to happen,” when they asked to see detainees.
Attys at Dulles with a fed court order entitling them to see detainees told by CBP “it’s not going to happen” Attys seeking contempt order
Congressmen, including Rep. Don Beyer, were also turned away at Dulles by Border Patrol:
Congressmen @RepDonBeyer @GerryConnolly @RepRaskin demanding to see “people detained” at Dulles
Similar scenes involving elected representatives also occurred Saturday night at Dulles, when Senator Cory Booker was denied access to the deportees, and at Los Angeles International Airport, where two congresswomen were unable to speak with Border Patrol officials.
On Sunday, Beyer said there is a “constitutional crisis” at Dulles:
We have a constitutional crisis today. Four Members of Congress asked CBP officials to enforce a federal court order and were turned away.
At Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, at least nine people remained detained on Sunday, according to reporter Justin Glawe.
Attorneys there told Glawe they were not being given access to the detainees:
The detainees at DFW include an 11-month-old baby who is an American citizen, and the baby’s mother, a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
Table of attorneys working pro bono to release the detainees at DFW Airport #MuslimBan #RefugeeBan #DFWAirport
Meanwhile, other attorneys say deportations have continued, including at San Francisco’s airport.
BREAKING: Just got word that a Iranian man who was being held at a detention center is being taken back to SFO and will be deported, per fam
There are also fears that agents are pressuring detainees to voluntarily surrender their visa status and board plans back to their home countries or other nations.
“Rogue customs and Border Patrol agents continue to try to get people on to planes,” Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, told The Guardian. “A lot of people have been handcuffed, a lot of people who don’t speak English are being coerced into taking involuntary departures.”
Attorneys from the ACLU and elsewhere planned to return to court in Brooklyn on Sunday to seek clarifications to Donnelly’s order. In Virginia, attorneys planed to have officials held in contempt for not following the judge’s order. And in Texas, court filings requesting the release of detainees were being filed, according to Glawe.
Homeland Security Issued a Statement Saying It ‘Will Continue to Enforce’ the Executive Order
Yolanda Roa, a Latina Muslim, joins the protest to denounce President Donald Trump’s executive order that bans certain immigration, at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on January 28, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Getty)
Homeland Security, which oversees the Border Patrol, issued a statement on Sunday, saying it “will continue to enforce” Trump’s executive order, while also following the judicial rulings related to it:
The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce all of President Trump’s Executive Orders in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people. President Trump’s Executive Orders remain in place—prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety. President Trump’s Executive Order affects a minor portion of international travelers, and is a first step towards reestablishing control over America’s borders and national security.
Approximately 80 million international travelers enter the United States every year. Yesterday, less than one percent of the more than 325,000 international air travelers who arrive every day were inconvenienced while enhanced security measures were implemented. These individuals went through enhanced security screenings and are being processed for entry to the United States, consistent with our immigration laws and judicial orders.
The Department of Homeland Security will faithfully execute the immigration laws, and we will treat all of those we encounter humanely and with professionalism. No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States or to demand immigration benefits in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security will comply with judicial orders; faithfully enforce our immigration laws, and implement President Trump’s Executive Orders to ensure that those entering the United States do not pose a threat to our country or the American people.
The union representing Border Patrol agents, which endorsed President Trump during the election, also issued a statement about the fight over the executive order.
“We fully support and appreciate President Trump’s swift and decisive action to keep the American people safe and allow law enforcement to do its job,” the statement said. “We applaud the three executive orders he has issued to date, and are confident they will make America safer and more prosperous.”
The statement also said morale among the agents “has increased exponentially since the signing of the orders. The men and women of ICE and Border Patrol will work tirelessly to keep criminals, terrorists and public safety threats out of this country – which remains the number one target in the world – and President Trump’s actions now empower us to fulfill this life saving mission, and it will indeed save thousands of lives and billions of dollars.”
