Protests against Donald Trump's controversial travel ban on people travelling to the US from seven predominantly Muslim nations intensified today, with thousands of angry demonstrators gathering at many airports and streets amid mounting lawsuits and rumblings in the Republican Party over the President's executive order.
Protesters in large numbers gathered outside the White House and raised slogans like 'This is what America looks like!', 'The people united, will never be divided' and 'No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here,' as they waved the American flag and held placards.
The demonstrators were opposing Trump's order to block any visitors for 90 days from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Similar protests were held across the nation and at airports, where confusion continued to prevail over the order after a New York judge's order temporarily halting removal of individuals detained in the country. People gathered at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, within sight of the Statue of Liberty, Boston's Copley Square as well as popular spots across San Francisco demonstrating and extending their support and solidarity with refugees and those impacted by the ban.
Hundreds of protesters had gathered at the Dulles International Airport, while at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, scores of Muslims pulled out their prayer rugs and knelt, and at least 50 people were taken into police custody.
In a joint statement, Arizona Senator John McCain and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham called Trump's travel ban a "self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism."
"This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security," the two Republican senators said.
Other Republicans were similarly criticising his executive order.
Representative Will Hurd from Texas called it "the ultimate display of mistrust." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, Tennessee, said the order "has been poorly implemented, especially with respect to green card holders."
"This was an extreme vetting program that wasn't properly vetted," the Republican Senator from Ohio, Rob Portman told CNN.
Already, a federal judge in New York blocked part of Trump's executive order on immigration, ruling that authorities could not remove individuals from seven Muslim- majority countries who had arrived in US airports after the order had been issued.
Other judges had ruled against the order, as well, US media reports said.
Also, 16 Democratic state attorneys general issued a joint statement calling Trump's move "unconstitutional, un- American and unlawful" and vowing to fight it in court.
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