Protesters at JFK Airport rally for the release of refugees detained as a result of President Donald Trump’s immigration ban, January 28, 2017. (Photo: Daniel Altschuler)
It can be easy to despair, to feel like trends toward inequality are impossible to stop, to give in to fear over increased racist, sexist and xenophobic violence. But around the country, people are doing the hard work of fighting back and coming together to plan for what comes next. In this ongoing “Interviews for Resistance” series, we introduce you to some of them. Today’s interview is the seventh in the series. Click here for the most recent interview before this one.
As Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and immigrants from several Muslim countries took effect, some people already on their way to the US were stuck in limbo, some of them in the airport. Around the country, grassroots groups called emergency rallies demanding those detained be freed. In New York, a rally was called early in the day at John F. Kennedy Airport. On Saturday night, a federal judge halted the order, following sustained protests. According to The New York Times, 81 people who were stopped from entering the US were eventually given waivers. Ongoing actions across the US will continue Sunday. I spoke with Daniel Altschuler, director of civic engagement and research at Make The Road New York, from the rally Saturday afternoon.
Sarah Jaffe: And where are you right now?
Daniel Altschuler: I’m at JFK Terminal 4, where hundreds of people and growing every minute are here to denounce the unconscionable and unconstitutional executive orders that Donald Trump signed yesterday and that now is tearing families apart here at JFK Airport, we know of at least 12 people who were detained overnight. One is now free, and everyone’s here to cheer the fight for the remaining refugees who have been detained here at JFK.
I can hear chants in the background. Obviously Donald Trump had been threatening to ban refugees from the beginning,…