Protest at BWI Airport Over Trump's Executive Order on Immigrants, Refugees

HANOVER, MD — Protests against a U.S. travel ban for nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries continued Sunday at international airports, including Baltimore Washington International. Protests also spread to President Donald Trump's front yard, where a large crowd formed in response to the executive order that bars nationals from Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Iran, Yemen and Sudan from entering the U.S. for 90 days.

Trump's order also bans the resettlement of refugees for four months and indefinitely suspends the entry of Syrian refugees. Protests sprang up at airports Saturday night to clamor for the release of travelers with visas who were detained as they got off of flights.

Sunday afternoon, former Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley joined the protesters at BWI's international terminal and urged others to attend. "We’re at war with ISIL but this sort of bigoted, adolescent stupidity by Trump plays right to their hands," the one-time presidential candidate said on Twitter.

So far, current Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who didn't support Trump's candidacy, has not commented on the travel ban. There has been no comment on his Facebook page, which shows photos of Hogan attending church in Upper Marlboro Sunday morning, but nothing more recent. Hogan has not responded to The Washington Post's request for a comment on the new executive order.

• See: Judges Halt Deportation of Arriving Immigrants with Visas

Newly elected U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, called Trump's policy "shameful" and vowed to fight it. "It's a sad day for our country when our Commander-in-Chief is acting more like Vladimir Putin than an American president," Van Hollen tweeted.

Saturday night, Van Hollen said on social media that a 5-year-old Maryland boy, an American citizen, was detained for more than 4 hours at Dulles Airport as he returned home to his family. The child was held despite his office's early efforts to provide authorities with information to ensure he would not be detained, the senator said.

"This child was just one of hundreds caught yesterday in this unprecedented and disgraceful executive action," Van Hollen said. "Thanks to the ruling last night by a federal judge the implementation of Trump’s removal order has been temporarily blocked. But, we cannot let this abuse of legal authority stand — we must rally to protect our values and the rule of law."

Several federal judges stopped the detention of foreign travelers at U.S. airports Saturday, partially halting enforcement of the executive order. But protests continued Sunday, calling for a repeal of the order that has been seen by opponents as anti-Muslim and unAmerican.

The BWI terminal has filled with protesters waving signs that welcome international travelers and chanting, "Occupy BWI."

Some signs at the White House rally were more inventive than others, but the general theme was a call to action for other voters and a demand that Congress step in and challenge the order.

Protesters were planning to return to Dulles International Airport late Sunday afternoon. A major airport hub for D.C. officials, Dulles saw one of the more high-profile protests on Saturday, drawing hundreds of protesters, as well as politicians like Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

On Sunday, the ACLU had warned protesters to await a permit due to concerns about arrests if there were complaints at the busy airport. The organization announced mid-afternoon that the permits had been obtained and encouraged supporters begin arriving at the Dulles airport to protest the executive order.

»Photo from former Gov. Martin O'Malley's Twitter feed