President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration was being felt across the country on Saturday, including in Boston, where some were denied entry and and hundreds protested the ban.
At Boston's Logan International Airport, at least six people from Iran were detained Saturday after their flights landed in the U.S. A federal judge in New York issued a temporary stay late Saturday for all detainees affected by Trump's executive orders, which barred all refugees from entering the United States for four months, and indefinitely halted any from Syria. Trump argued the ban is needed to keep out "radical Islamic terrorists."
A tweet by Samira Asgari, an Iranian doctor, stated that she was denied boarding when she arrived for her flight to the U.S. from Germany.
In a Skype interview from Switzerland, Asgari told us she had planned to come to the U.S. to start a study at Harvard Medical School analyzing tuberculosis.
I was pretty excited to join @soumya_boston lab but denied boarding due to my Iranian nationality. Feeling safer?
— Samira Asgari (@samsam_86) January 28, 2017
"My view of America of course, doesn't change because of a decision a politician makes. My view of America changes because the land that used to be the land of those who want to be there, who want to do something good to the community and take something good from the community - that picture of America has changed for me," she said.
Several students at Massachusetts colleges also tweeted that they were being blocked from entering the country.
In a statement, MIT officials said they're "very troubled" that Trump's executive order is affecting the university's community and are exploring options for helping impacted students.
Northeastern University in a statement to their community offered support to their students, faculty and staff reminding them of "their commitment to each other."
Earlier in the day, two Iraqi men were detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport when their flights landed separately.
NBC News reported that lawyers for the two refugees filed motions in the Eastern District of New York, seeking a write of habeas corpus in an effort to get their clients released. One man has since been released.
Meanwhile, about 300 people participated in a demonstration against Trump's executive orders on immigration at Boston Logan International Airport Saturday evening, joining protests at airports across the nation.
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Bahar Bhamani, unable to reach her husband hours after he landed in Boston Logan said her life had "turned into hello in two days." She waited for hours before her husband, who was visiting Iran to see his father sick with cancer, was let out of the airport. Bhamani fears he may never be able to fly home to see him again.
Among those at the protest was U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who told the crowd they were there to make their voices against the Trump administration heard.
Mayor Marty Walsh was present at the Boston airport this evening, shortly after a federal judge granted a temporary stay for detainees affected by Trump's executive order.
The ACLU, who challenged the President's order, said there would be a Federal Court hearing later tonight. The time is still to be decided. The ACLU of Massachusetts and other civil rights groups are filing suit on behalf of the UMass professor detained at Logan today.
According to the ACLU of Massachusetts complaint, the professors "have a constitutional right to return home to the United States after a brief trip abroad, and cannot be deprived of their lawful permanent status without justification and due process protections."
Another protest against Trump's executive order is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Boston's Copley Square on Sunday.
