Chants of defiance filled Terminal A at Philadelphia International Airport Sunday where at one point thousands of outraged protesters gathered to decry President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on immigration.
This was after authorities forced a Christian Syrian family to return to Middle East after arriving in Philadelphia on Saturday.
According to Christianity Today, they are among the first casualties of President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Demonstrators said they are speaking out against President Donald Trump’s executive order placing temporary bans on entry into the U.S. of people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Trump signed the controversial executive order on Friday banning people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States. All refugees are also banned for 120 days and refugees from Syria are banned indefinitely.
Trump said, according to AFP, that the ban was “not about religion”. He said in a statement: “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days.”
But there are fears the ban could act as a recruiting tool for Islamic State.
Of more than 3,000 people who entered the US Saturday, more than 100 were detained for questioning.
However, the two Christian families from Syria were returned to the Middle East from Philadelphia in spite of reassurances from Trump that the executive order would give priority to admitting Christian refugees.
Just hours before they were sent back, Trump had told the Christian Broadcasting Network, referring to Christian refugees in general: “We are going to help them. They’ve been horribly treated.”
CNN reports that world leaders and prominent figures have blasted the US President saying that such a policy is divisive, illegal, insulting and discriminatory.
IOM and UNHCR say they remained committed to working with the US administration towards a shared goal of ensuring “safe and secure resettlement and immigration programmes”, Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) reports.
Google’s Sundar Pichai and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg have expressed various levels of concern about the action, with the former recalling employees in an attempt to get them back into the US before the ban restricts their re-entry.
Qatar Airways, Etihad to enforce Trump travel ban
Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have said they would enforce the new rules governing entry to the US following Mr Trump’s temporary order.
A spokesperson for Qatar Airways said it would only carry passengers to the US who had the correct documentation.
An official from the airline said: “We are enforcing the new rules. If travellers to the US don’t have the proper documentation, we are not going to take them to the US.”
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it will apply restrictions on its US routes “effective immediately”.
Citizens of the affected countries will need to have a valid US permanent residency card, known as the “Green Card” or a diplomatic visa to travel, an Etihad spokesperson said in a statement.
marvin@ugchristiannews.com
