Trump refugee ban spurs second night of local protests in Seattle
The disappointment and fear that rolled through immigrant communities in the wake of President Trump’s executive order barring refugees and limiting immigration from seven Muslim majority countries drew thousands Sunday night to a peaceful demonstration in Seattle’s Westlake Plaza.
It was the second straight night of protests in Western Washington, with a huge crowd flooding the public areas of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) on Saturday after the ban was announced.
Civil libertarians and volunteer attorneys from some of the city’s most prestigious law firms helped win the release of two men — citizens of Yemen and Sudan — who had been detained by agents from Customs and Border Protection at the airport and not allowed to enter the United States. The lawyers obtained an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing their removal from the country pending a hearing this week.
Meanwhile, thousands stood in chilly weather and endured an on-again, off-again drizzle in downtown Seattle on Sunday to hear speakers — including Gov. Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray — denounce the order and the Trump administration for imposing it.
Read more: http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/second-night-of-protests-over-trump-refugee-ban/
