Thousands of Angelenos met at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday to protest the executive order issued by President Donald Trump that critics are calling a “Muslim Ban.”
The executive order, titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” initially focuses on an overhaul of the entry procedures of foreign nationals, but goes on to suspend visas and travel “to Nationals of Countries of Particular Concern.” Though the order does not name countries other than Syria, the nations “of Particular Concern” are selected as an addendum to the “Terrorist Travel and Prevention Act of 2015,” which includes Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and Iraq.
Sunday’s protest drew over 7,000 people at its height around 3 p.m. as the crowds packed into halls surrounding the international terminal. Though at times the crowds blocked incoming traffic to the airport on lower 1 World Way at LAX, the protest remained peaceful for its duration.
“I’m doing this for my son. My parents were immigrants in the seventies, I was born here. My parents are from Egypt, my husband is Mexican, so what I believe is what makes America beautiful is our diversity and unification,” said Sarah Andrade, a resident of Northridge, about her participation. “This is just a way to unite and tell people that refugees are welcome here. It’s not OK to have a ban on Muslims or anyone. No wall. We want an America that’s diverse and unified that preaches tolerance.”
The protest was organized independently online by several different groups and organizations, including Service Employees International Union California and the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Jan. 28 after similar protests began erupting at airports across the country.
Akio “Ace” Katano, an attorney working on Jessica Salans campaign for an L.A. City Council seat for District 13, said that he found the protest like many did – via a group on Facebook which quickly grew in size.
“Things blew up very, very quickly,” Katano said. “In the course of a few hours it went from 50 people RSVPing to a thousand people RSVPing to god knows how many people. It took off.”
Katano stated that following this viral spread he and Meghan Choi, another attorney at the protest, then began organizing with larger organizations such as CAIR in order to coordinate the efforts of the independent groups. A major issue for lawyers present was the unknown nature of the status of several nationals who had been detained by LAX immigration and customs officials. The Los Angeles Times has confirmed at least seven nationals had been detained as of Saturday.
“It’s difficult to confirm a number because part of the problem is that they’re not releasing the names of the people that they have detained. So people are stuck in limbo,” Katano said.
Confusion on issues of legality over President Trump’s executive action reigned not only at LAX, but throughout the country. During the action’s first day of implementation on Friday evening, numerous detentions were reported at airports in several states.
After two Iraqi immigrants that had been detained at JFK International filed suit against the order with the American Civil Liberties Union, parts of the order were blocked. The suit created a brief window to allow at least some foreign nationals entering into the US to escape detention, but did not stop the general order to immigration officials to ban passage for nationals currently outside of the US.
“The issue is complicated, because it’s not just people being detained – it’s people being rerouted, it’s people in the air and in various stages of transit that makes it very hard to judge,” said Choi.
While numerous attorneys showed up looking to fight for potential detainees, the majority of those who appeared at the protest were there there to show support and protest Trump’s order more generally. Constant chanting, drum circles, and marches saw thousands adding to the immense cacophony of protest at the airport.
According to David L. Maggard, the chief of the LAPD’s Airport Police Division, the protest was unique because “It’s [at] the airport and it’s this size. It’s a little bit unusual to have this many people here at this time.”
Maggard expressed a commitment to ensuring that the protesters would not have their rights interrupted while ensuring their safety, saying “At the same time we have to make sure traffic goes through safely. Just try to stay out of the street.”
At the time of this writing, it is unknown if the protest at LAX will continue on in subsequent days as the legal issues revolving around President Trump’s executive order go through the legal system.