Thousands gathered at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, rallying outside terminals, marching through roadways and blocking traffic in a forceful denunciation of President Trump’s sweeping travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
The demonstrations were mostly confined to the area around the Tom Bradley International Terminal, a hub of global travel, and as the day continued, the show of civil unrest became more insistent.
The crowd faced off with police in riot gear. Marchers chanted and renounced the legitimacy of Trump’s presidency. At one point, a group of Muslim demonstrators formed rows and knelt down to pray.
By nightfall, dozens had blocked traffic along the departures level of World Way — the main thoroughfare that snakes through the airport — and Assistant Police Chief Michael Moore used a megaphone to repeatedly ask protesters to move to the sidewalk.
“We do not want to arrest you,” Moore said. “You’re making the local law enforcement be the bad guy here. We don’t want to be the bad guy.”
The protesters asked him to demand the release of detainees in exchange for clearing the roadway.
At 10 p.m., two people were arrested for allegedly blocking the roadway, according to LAX Police Officer Rob Pedregon. The two were cited and released.
Late Sunday, police also brokered an agreement with demonstrators, allowing them to alternate between the airport’s upper and lower levels for 30-minute intervals. At each interval, protesters were allowed to fully close a road for 15 minutes, according to a statement released by LAX.
Demonstrators dispersed and upper- and lower-level roadways were fully open, with traffic flowing normally, LAX officials said in a 12:30 a.m. statement.
”We’ll be monitoring social media for any events that may come up,” Pedregon said Monday morning
Inside the airport, untold numbers of people from countries affected by Trump’s order — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Syria — were detained despite having valid visas and green cards.
Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and other public interest law groups raced to file court papers to release those being held.
Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrant rights for the ACLU of California, said her group had filed habeas petitions on behalf of seven people who were detained at LAX on Saturday. All seven were later released, and of those, two elderly women were held for longer than 24 hours, she said.
On Sunday, the ACLU also requested that a federal judge order that all detainees receive access to lawyers as well as phones. A judge could hear the petition on Monday or Tuesday.
Reliable statistics on the number of people detained at LAX were difficult to access. One detainee told the ACLU that at least 100 people were being held on Saturday. Late Sunday, immigration attorneys working at LAX estimated that about 20 people were being detained at any given time. A law enforcement source told The Times that 13 people had been detained at Terminal 2 on Saturday night, but each of them held a green card and was eventually released. The source could not provide detention figures for the Tom Bradley International Terminal, the airport’s locus of international travel.
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Supporters of President Trump rally in favor of his immigration ban executive order Saturday at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Protesters rallying against the first travel ban signed by President Trump march around Los Angeles International Airport in February. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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Trump supporters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Muhaned El Hindi protests the immigration ban Saturday during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Mathew Woods, a supporter of President Trump, voices support for an immigration ban during a rally at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Passengers stand in the doorway of a baggage claim area to take pictures and video of marchers protesting the immigration ban of President Trump at LAX on Saturday.
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Supporters of President Trump’s travel ban stand across the street from the #NoBanNoWall protesters at LAX on Saturday.
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Cooper Chvotkin, 6, gets a turn to voice his opinion on the megaphone with other protesters at LAX on Saturday.
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Protesters march through the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX on Saturday to protest President Trump’s travel ban.
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Abeer Abdelrahman, left, hugs her sister Areej Ali at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday after Ali, who has a green card, was able to come through the arrivals area with the help of an attorney after being detained and questioned. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
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Noor Hindi, left, and Sham Najjar, right, join the protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday.
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Attorney’s crowd a small table at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trump’s travel restrictions.
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Immigration Attorney Monica Glicken, left, listens to Mohamed, right, as she tries to find travelers to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Monday to assist travelers who require help due to President Trump’s travel restrictions.
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Hundreds of people protested President Trump’s original travel ban at LAX in January. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Protesters block traffic at LAX, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Demonstrators take a pizza break while blocking traffic on the upper level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal while police monitor the rally.
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A pro-Trump supporter argues with protesters about the president’s travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Hundreds sit in on the arrival level of LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal, blocking traffic to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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Airport police plead with protesters to get off the pavement in order to let stranded motorists exit.
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Protesters block traffic, stranding motorists at the Tom Bradley International Terminal of LAX.
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Muslims pray as hundreds stand in support on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during a protest against President Trump’s immigration order. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Police position themselves as a man takes photos on the on the departure level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal during protests to President Donald Trump’s new immigration order.
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Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest against President Trump’s immigration order.
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A police officer watches protesters at the lower deck of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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People gather at the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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Assmaa Kalm, left, and Rosanna Sounbl, right, protest President Trump’s travel ban at Los Angeles International Airport on Jan. 29, 2017. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Hundreds block traffic on the arrival level of the Tom Bradley International Terminal to protest President Trump’s immigration order.
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Police keep an eye on people who continue to protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Hundreds take part in an impromptu sit-in at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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People hang a banner in support of immigrants on a parking structure across the street from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Meg Heatherly, 27, of Los Angeles holds a “Shame” sign during a protest at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Jan. 29, 2017. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Attorney Lisa Smith joins people at LAX who continue to protest President Trump’s travel ban.
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A lone supporter of President Trump and Vice President Pence is protected by police while a large group of people continue to protest President Donald Trump’s travel ban at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Chella, from Sherman Oaks, holds the U.S. flag with words from the tablet on the Statue of Liberty.
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Hundreds of people gather at Los Angeles International Airport to continue protesting President Trump’s travel ban.
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Donald Trump supporters hold signs across the road from protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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A traveler tries to get by protesters at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Brothers Adam, left, and Noah Reich show their support of immigrants as they join opponents of Donald Trump’s new immigration order at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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A traveler tries to get by protesters at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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A protester holds up sign at the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Hassan Al Garaawi, of San Diego, right, looks for his mother-in-law Gish Alsaeedi who has been detained at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Sunday.
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Passengers arrive at LAX as protests continue Sunday over President Trump’s travel ban.
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Izzy Berdan, of Boston wears an American flag as he chants slogans with other demonstrators Sunday during a rally against President Trump’s order that restricts travel to the U.S. by people from seven majority-Muslim nations.
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People gather in Boston’s Copley Square to protest the travel ban enacted by President Trump.
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Demonstrators gather Sunday near the White House to protest President Donald Trump’s travel ban.
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People continue to protest President Trump’s travel ban on Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport.
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Attorney Dana Clausen waits on Sunday to help at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX as people continue to protest President Trump’s executive order that led to travelers from several majority-Muslim countries being detained upon arrival.
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Kamryn Taghizadeh, 18, holds up a sign Saturday night as she waits for grandfather Reza Taghizadeh, 78, a minimalist painter who was detained as he arrived at Tom Bradley International Terminal from Iran. The artist and green-card holder was later released.
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Reza Taghizadeh, 78, an artist from Iran who holds a U.S. green card, is released after being detained at Tom Bradley International Terminal.
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Seattle police use pepper spray and push the last group of protesters out of a Seattle-Tacoma International Airport terminal after giving a final dispersal order at about 2 a.m Sunday.
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Saffiya Hrahsheh, center, is helped away from police by Liz Bates, left, and others after being pepper sprayed by officers breaking up protests early Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
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Siavosh Naji-Talakar greets his grandmother, Marzieh Moosavizadeh, 75, at LAX’s Tom Bradley International Terminal. She was detained upon arriving from Iran.
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People arrive and LAPD officers stand by at Tom Bradley International Airport at LAX as the protest continues peacefully.
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Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to oppose President Trump’s refugee ban.
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Saudia Airlines flight attendants wait to pass through a securioty checkpoint at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday.
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Protesters rally against Trump’s refugee crackdown at at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX on Saturday.
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Protesters gather at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX to speak out against President Trump’s refugee policy Saturday.
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Protesters march through Tom Bradley International Terminal to voice opposition to President Trump’s refugee policy.
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Protesters rally against the new immigration order at Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
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Protesters hold signs during a protest against Trump’s immigration executive order at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
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Protesters assemble at John F. Kennedy International Airport after two Iraqis were detained while trying to enter the country.
(Craig Ruttle / Associated Press) Pasquarella also said federal immigration officials have been urging some detainees to waive their applications for admission to the U.S., an allegation echoed by ACLU officials in other cities. It was not clear what detainees were faced with, but Pasquarella suggested that officials could threaten to deport detained individuals, which could have a long-term effect on their ability to reenter the U.S. at a later date.
Attorneys were also having difficulty accessing those being held. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency did not respond to requests for comment.
At LAX, some protesters marched around the lower level beating drums, blowing whistles and chanting, “No ban, no wall, sanctuary for all.”
Holding a sign that read, “Our Anne Frank Is a Syrian Child,” Alexandra Noyes, 41, said her background as a Jewish woman made her decide to drive to the airport Sunday morning.
“As a Jewish kid you are relentlessly trained to stand up for people who are being oppressed in the way that the Jews have been in the past,” Noyes said. “Around the time of the election, it became pretty clear that now is that time.”
About a dozen counter-protesters popped up on the street across from the Bradley Terminal, holding signs that read “X-treme Vetting” and “Keep Refugees Out,” saying they were tired of the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. that they believe jeopardizes the safety of American citizens.
Chanell Temple, 63, of Los Angeles said she was sick of watching immigrants in the country illegally “steal” benefits and services from American citizens, specifically veterans and homeless persons who need aid.
“They are coming here and taking everything away,” said Temple, a former bookkeeper who said she lost her job and healthcare after she was fired because she couldn’t speak Spanish.
Throughout the day, protesters intermittently froze traffic. Officials with LAX said some flights were delayed because airline employees and passengers could not reach the terminals.
Motorist Rebekah Bergeron, 22, was sitting at the head of a line of cars blocked by the protesters. Though she said she didn’t object to their demonstration, she also wanted to get home to Arizona.
“I have no problem if they want to protest this, but I just missed my flight,” she said. “I just watched it take off.”
On Saturday, after mass demonstrations across the country, a federal judge in New York ordered a halt to deportations of travelers who arrived at airports with valid visas to enter the U.S., saying that sending them back to the affected countries could cause them “irreparable harm.” But she did not rule on the legality of the order.
Rulings from the federal bench appear to have come too late for some.
Marjan Vayghan of West Los Angeles said her uncle was deported from LAX on Saturday afternoon just before the ACLU arrived with paperwork to stop the deportations.
Ali Vayeghan arrived at 7:15 p.m. Friday from Tehran. He was going to stay with Marjan Vayghan’s parents, then go to Indiana to join his wife, who arrived in the U.S. four months ahead of him, and his son.
But he never emerged from customs. She said he was put on a plane to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.
The ACLU was trying to prevent his deportation but arrived with paperwork 45 minutes too late. The family spoke to him by phone after he landed in Dubai, where he was waiting to be put on a flight to Tehran.
On Sunday afternoon, a federal judge in Los Angeles ordered authorities to transport Vayeghan back to the U.S. and admit him under the terms of his visa, which is set to expire Feb. 14.
By the time the order came down, Vayeghan was on a plane bound for Tehran, and his family said they were uncertain what would happen next.
james.queally@latimes.com
javier.panzar@latimes.com
matt.hamilton@latimes.com
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