Thanks to the tireless, quick work of the ACLU, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, has granted a nationwide emergency stay on Donald Trump’s executive order which denied entry to citizens from several nations in the middle east.
The stay was granted, in part, due to the fact that law-abiding visitors had been unlawfully detained at airports across the nation, not allowed to leave or have access to representation.
It appears that the emergency stay only applies to those currently being detained and those who are in transit, but a decisive victory nonetheless.
The ACLU launched their lawsuit against the President and the U.S. government on behalf of two Iraqi citizens who had been detained and denied representation for several hours.
The two Iraqi men were just some of the many people being illegally held inside of airports, subject to unreasonable search and interrogation. In response, attorneys gathered inside airport terminals, working around the clock to free the detained immigrants. Many of the detained individuals had legal visas.
Elsewhere, massive protests grew quickly on Saturday afternoon and into the evening as people showed their anger over the illegal detention of innocent people.
Just to be clear: Iraqi refugee held in cuffs for 17 hours at JFK before being allowed in was an interpreter for US troops during the war.
— Jim Axelrod (@JimAxelrod) January 28, 2017
Meanwhile, Donald Trump said that he thought the ban was going “fine.”
The decision in favor of the ACLU is a major victory for now, and will allow individuals to prepare for the consequences of the ban – possibly, the court system could result in the ban being overturned completely.
Regardless, the ACLU is also pursuing a lawsuit against the executive order under the claim that it is unconstitutional.
Those who wish to donate to the ACLU can do so here.
Never seen anything like these protests at JFK. pic.twitter.com/R4xIKTq9u8
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) January 28, 2017
