Chaos as Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ sees mass protests and tearful families with travellers detained at airports… but court rules they CAN’T be sent home
Seven passengers flying from Cairo to New York were told they couldn’t get on their plane while tech giant Google has recalled its staff back to the USA
MUSLIM air travellers were refused entry to America yesterday as Donald Trump’s immigration ban kicked in, causing airport chaos.
Several were in transit when President Trump signed the order placing a 90-day pause on immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries.
Among them were an Iranian scientist heading for Boston and visa-holder Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an Iraqi translator working with US troops.
Hameed was held for 17 hours at New York’s JFK Airport before he was allowed to join his family, who had already been admitted. Another Iraqi, Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, was released on Saturday after 24 hours' detention during his trip to Texas to join his wife and son.
Ten others were still being held at JFK last night as protesters gathered outside to condemn the "Muslim ban" and a 120-day suspension on taking in refugees.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on their behalf, and on Saturday night a judge in the federal court for the Eastern District of New York issued a stay, barring the US from deporting any of those detained. Judge Ann Donnelly ruled that deportation would cause them "irreparable harm", though her order did not compel immigration officials to release any of those being held.
The stay is effective across the US, and the ACLU plans to widen the suit to encompass all those affected by the ban.
An untold number of foreign-born US residents now travelling outside the country could be stuck overseas for at least three months, while many who are in the country cannot leave.
Those already in the US with a visa or green card would be allowed to stay, according to one official, who wished to remain anonymous.
Among those also believed to be affected is Olympic hero Mo Farah, who is a British passport holder but was born in Somalia – one of seven countries to which travel restrictions apply.
It emerged late on Saturday that the restrictions would also apply to people with dual citizenship - including Brits.
The gold medal-winner - who now lives in the US - is understood to be away training in Ethiopia – meaning he may not be able to return home to his family.
The Sun contacted Farah’s representatives for comment.
A Tory MP and his wife are also among those affected by the travel ban.
Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-upon-Avon, today revealed he and his wife were both unable to travel to the US because they were born in Iraq.
He wrote on Twitter: “What if you are British of Iraqi origin, as I am? A sad sad day to feel like a second class citizen! Sad day for the USA.”
The politician later followed this up with a second post, tweeting: “Had confirmation that the order does apply to myself and my wife as we were both born in Iraq. Even if we are not dual Nat.”
Officials in Egypt also prevented seven migrants from boarding a flight to the US yesterday.
There were also fears last night that Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi, 45, will not be allowed to attend next month’s Oscars. He is up for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award for The Salesman. He won the category in 2012.
Iran, one of the seven nations barred by Mr Trump, called the ban an insult. It vowed to block all US citizens from entering its country in response. In Turkey, PM Theresa May refused three times to condemn the US stand. But after arriving back from Ankara her spokesman said: “We do not agree with this kind of approach.”
Trump said the ban was “working out very nicely”.
All over the world there was chaos at airports as the ban came into force.
Seven people - six Iraqis and a Yemeni - were stopped from boarding a flight from Cairo, Egypt, to New York despite having valid visas to travel to America.
The memo, written by the tech giant’s CEO Sundar Pichai, read: "It’s painful to see the personal cost of this executive order on our colleagues.
"We’ve always made our view on immigration issues known publicly and will continue to do so."
The new ban was introduced by the Republican president yesterday as part of a move that he described as allowing for “extreme vetting” and to “keep terrorists out”.
Trump's executive order places a ban on travel to the US by people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia for 90 days.
He has also suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days.
Visiting the State Department on Friday, Trump said: “We are establishing new vetting measures, to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.”
He added: “We don’t want ‘em here. We want to ensure we aren’t admitting into our country the very threats that our men and women are fighting overseas.”
Donald Trump's potential list of countries that have travel restrictions placed on them
- Syria – Ravaged by civil war for nearly six years, the lawless country is the home base and training centre for a host of terror groups, including ISIS and the formerly Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front.
- Iraq – Unstable since the 2003 US-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, ISIS took over swathes of the country with ease in 2014, taking advantage of the sympathetic Sunni minority that made the same areas a breeding ground for Al Qaeda during the anti-West insurgency.
- Iran – A radical Islamist republic since the 1979 revolution – remembered by many in America for the hostage crisis after the country’s embassy in Tehran was stormed – Iran was branded “the foremost sponsor of terrorism in 2015” by the US State Department.
- Libya – Essentially a failed state since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has seen jihadi groups flourish in recent years, with between seven and nine radical organisations believed to be operating there, according to one US official.
- Somalia – Arguably the world most famous and longest-running failed state, with no effective government since 1991. Home to infamous jihadi group Al Shabbab.
- Sudan – Previously on the State Department’s list of terror sponsors and still a supporter of Palestinian terror group Hamas. Previously used as a transit point for Brit jihadis looking to travel to Syria.
- Yemen – A long-time haven for Al Qaeda and now with a growing ISIS presence since the country was carved in two by the recent civil war which broke out in 2014.
The move by the new US president has drawn heavy criticism.
Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 to stop her campaigning for girls' education and co-winner of the 2014, said she is “heartbroken” by the ban.
She released a statement saying: “I am heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and fathers fleeing violence and war.”
And Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg slammed the ban, saying: “We need to keep this country safe, but we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat.”
But in Turkey, PM Theresa May refused three times to condemn the travel restrictions.
At a press conference in Ankara, she would only say: “The US is responsible for its policy.”
But the president defended the order, telling reporters it was "not a Muslim ban".
He said: "It's working out very nicely. We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."
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