Protests Erupt At US Airports Over Trump's Immigration Ban

UPDATE, Saturday, 9 p.m. -- A federal judge in Brooklyn tonight has issued an emergency stay against President Trump's executive order of a temporary ban of immigration from predominantly Muslim countries. 

Protests have broken out this afternoon in at least four major cities, and three major airports, in the wake of President Trump’s temporary executive order to close the nation’s borders to refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Thousands are protesting at John F. Kennedy International Airport over Friday’s decision by Trump to ban immigration to the U.S. for at least 90 days to Syrian refugees as well as citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries linked to terrorism – Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.

At JFK, the protest originally started outside the international arrivals area at Terminal 4 and has since spilled elsewhere.

Protest growing so much that JFK parking garage is packed with protesters pic.twitter.com/r4zYZ9zmcm

— Elizabeth Plank (@feministabulous) January 28, 2017

Protesters were carrying homemade signs that read "Let my friends in” and "Refugees are welcomed here,” among others.

The New York Taxi Workers Alliance publicly expressed its support for the protest and called for a strike of its own, refusing to travel to JFK to pick up any fares starting at 6 p.m. Saturday night.

"Our 19,000-member-strong union stands firmly opposed to Donald Trump's Muslim ban. As an organization whose membership is largely Muslim, a workforce that's almost universally immigrant, and a working-class movement that is rooted in the defense of the oppressed, we say no to this inhumane and unconstitutional ban," the NYTWA said in a statement.

READ MORE: Attorneys Advise Immigrants Not to Travel Abroad

Protests have also broken out across the country. At San Francisco International Airport:

There are lots of honks pic.twitter.com/hj2mkWb4sX

— Blake Montgomery (@blakersdozen) January 28, 2017

At Washington D.C.-Dulles Airport:

Iraq vet w/ 4 Purple Hearts, drove two hours to Dulles w/ his son.

Nobody called him. He just came. Why?

"Not what I fought for." pic.twitter.com/pAe50ugtlI

— Mike Breen (@M_Breen) January 28, 2017

Trump’s executive order, “to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States” after additional screening, went into effect Friday and lasts for 120 days.

Dozens of refugees and citizens of the seven nations listed in the ban were traveling to the U.S. after it was enacted and have been detained at several airports, including San Francisco, nearly 50 passengers alone at Dallas, Dulles and two at JFK who, earlier, were not allowed to even meet with attorneys. One has since been released.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement, “I never thought I'd see the day when refugees who have fled war-torn countries in search of a better life, would be turned away at our doorstep. We are a nation of bridges, not walls, and a great many of us still believe the words 'give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses...' This is not who we are and not who we should be."