A federal judge in New York handed Donald Trump his first loss as president, granting an ACLU request to stay deportations of people detained on entry to the United States as a result of Trump's executive order.
Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, a Barack Obama appointee, granted the request during a brief hearing as a crowd of hundreds grew into thousands outside the courthouse in support of the detainees. Donnelly determined the risk of injury to those detained by being returned to their home countries necessitated the decision, according to news reports.
Donnelly's ruling blocks only part of the president's actions. Said the New York Times, it prevents the government "from deporting some arrivals who found themselves ensnared by the presidential order. But it stopped short of letting them into the country or issuing a broader ruling on the constitutionality of Mr. Trump's actions." See the judge's order in the attachment at the end of this story.
As Trump’s order targeting citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries reverberated across the world Saturday, it became increasingly clear that the controversial measure he had promised during his presidential campaign was casting a wider net than even his opponents had feared.
Confusion and concern among immigrant advocates mounted throughout the day as travelers from the Middle East were detained at U.S. airports or sent home.
Meanwhile, Floridians protested Trump's order at the state's international airports, too.
A group gathered at Tampa International Airport Saturday evening after Gasparilla festivities ended, but they were turned away because they didn't have the necessary permit required for a protest. The group re-formed at the corner of Kennedy Boulevard and Westshore Boulevard after a tweet from Florida's ACLU chapter.
The crowd that began as about 20 at 8:30 p.m., grew in less than 30 minutes to 50, according to news reports, with more showing up by the minute. When word of the federal judge's stay was made public, the growing crowd broke out in cheers.
"It's sad and it's discouraging, because people want to come here to better themselves. Not for hateful reasons," protester Lena Kamal told a Tampa TV reporter. "They want to come here and have a better life, because this is the place you come. It's the American Dream."
The crowd in Tampa was small compared to protests at New York's Kennedy airport, Washington, D.C.'s Dulles airport, Chicago's O'Hare, and others, where thousands chanted and held signs with words of support for immigrants and their families.
"There's another side to this story than the one you're hearing from these protesters, just remember that," Fort Lauderdale's Leonard Silva said in an email to Sunshine State News early Sunday morning. "President Trump told us he was going to keep Muslims out until he was sure our screening process is getting the bad guys. Now he's done it and people like me who voted for him like it this way."
In a statement released early Sunday morning, the Department of Homeland Security said it would continue to enforce all of the president's executive orders, even while complying with judicial decisions.
"Prohibited travel will remain prohibited," the department said in a statement, adding that the directive was "a first step toward reestablishing control over America's borders and national security."
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith