• Anger and chaos as Trump decree blocks Muslim travellers around the world. Read the full story of what happened on Saturday here
• Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways issued statements over the weekend
• Federal judge issues emergency order temporarily barring the US from deporting people from nations subject
• The seven countries affected are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia
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Thanks for following our live updates today. Stay with us at https://www.thenationalnews.com this evening for more in-depth coverage on Trump’s travel ban.
6.30pm: Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah says the immigration policy "seems to have made me an alien" and fears he may not be able to return to his US home.
On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump...
Posted by Mo Farah on Sunday, January 29, 2017
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6pm: The US Department of Homeland Security said it would continue to enforce President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order restricting immigration, but would also comply with court orders which have partially blocked the temporary ban, reports Agence France-Presse.
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5.20pm: And Trump speaks out ...
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5.15pm: As day starts to turn to evening in the UAE, here is The National's editorial on the chaos in the US and at airports across the world.
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4.45pm: Emirates has just released an update on how its day-to-day operations are being affected. It has had to change flight attendant and pilot rosters on services to the US, an airline spokeswoman told Reuters.
“The recent change to the US entry requirements for nationals of seven countries applies to all travellers and flight operations crew,” the spokeswoman said in emailed comments. “We have made the necessary adjustments to our crewing, to comply with the latest requirements.”
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4.28pm: Watch this Iraqi man, who was detained and later released at New York's JFK International Airport due to president Trump's new refugee ban, praise the United States despite his ordeal.
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3.40pm: Bloomberg has reported on the latest situation at airports:
A security official at the American Airlines check-in desk at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 said on Sunday that he’d seen news of the court rulings overnight, but that no further guidance had filtered through from the carrier’s US base. Passengers holding passports from the seven countries will therefore all be turned away, in line with the executive order.
“Nothing has changed,” he said.
Airports like Heathrow, Amsterdam and their Arabian Gulf rivals are particularly affected by the presidential instruction because the seven countries affected have few or no direct US flights, compelling people from those states to fly via major hubs.
A Delta Air Lines supervisor at Heathrow said staff had been briefed on the matter on Sunday and suggested the situation had become “clearer”, but that travel was still being limited to holders of green cards and diplomatic visas. Even then there has been some confusion with Homeland Security officials, she said. The US carrier will refund anyone refused travel, the official said, adding that it has so far turned away “a few” people, which has been “very difficult to explain” to those concerned.
Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline, said it has so far suffered no significant disruption from the Trump order. About 20 people were affected by the travel ban on Saturday.
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Fuad Sharef Suleman and his family push their luggages after returning from Cairo to Erbil International Airport. They were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York having been detained overnight. Reuters
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3.30pm: More nations are lending their voice to the anti-Trump narrative.
Indonesia ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said: “Even though this policy is the United States’ authority, Indonesia deeply regrets it because we believe it would affect the global fight against terrorism and the refugees management negatively.” Eight-five per cent of Indonesia’s 255 million people are Muslims, though the country is not on Trump’s list of seven.
And here’s the German view:
“The chancellor (Angela Merkel) regrets the entry ban imposed by the US government against refugees and nationals from certain countries,” her spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
“She is convinced that even in the necessarily resolute battle against terrorism it is not justified to place people from a certain origin or belief under general suspicion.”
The German government “will now examine the consequences” of the ban for German citizens with dual nationality affected by the decision, he added.
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3.20pm: Dawn is breaking in Washington, and the confusion around the world continues. Hopefully in the next few hours there will be more clarity on the situation for Muslim travellers, and whether the legal order is being successfully implemented.
Meanwhile, here’s a couple more case studies of people who have been caught up in the happenings of the past 24 hours:
A British lawmaker who was born in the Iraqi capital Baghdad said on Sunday he feels discriminated against “for the first time in my life”, AP reported.
Nadhim Zahawi, a member of parliament since 2010, says lawyers advised him he will not be able to enter the US under the ban introduced on Friday.
Zahawi describes the impact on him and his family as “demeaning”. He told local television his sons studying in the US would not be able to visit Britain without facing a 90-day delay in returning to their studies.
An Iranian woman living in Scotland, Hamaseh Tayari, was stranded in Costa Rica in the wake of the ban, unable to board her scheduled flight home because it stopped in New York. She was seeking an alternative route with help from funds raised by a crowdfunding campaign.
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1.55pm: Our foreign correspondent Zainab Sultan paints a picture of the protests at JFK airport last night. Read it here
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1.40pm: Iraq's foreign affairs committee on Sunday said the US travel curbs imposed on Iraqis were "unfair," and asked the government in Baghdad to "reciprocate" to the American decision.
The committee made its call after a meeting in Baghdad.
“We ask the Iraqi government to reciprocate to the decision taken by the US administration,” said the committee in a statement read to Reuters by one its members, Hassan Shwerid.
“Iraq is in the frontline of the war of terrorism (..) and it is unfair that the Iraqis are treated in this way.”
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1.30pm: Here's the main news story of what has happened today:
A federal judge on Saturday blocked part of president Donald Trump’s temporary immigration ban, ordering authorities to stop deporting refugees and other travellers stuck at US airports.
“Victory!!!!!!” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), whose lawyers sued the government, tweeted after US district judge Ann Donnelly issued her decision.
“Our courts today worked as they should as bulwarks against government abuse or unconstitutional policies and orders.”
Mr Trump’s sweeping executive order, signed on Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and bars visas for travellers from seven Muslim majority countries for the next three months.
The move, which was implemented immediately by US authorities, sparked large protests at major airports across the country. At New York’s John F Kennedy international airport, some of the 2,000 demonstrators chanted “Let them in, let them in!”
Attorney Shawn Natloov, right, looks at Mehdi Radgoudarzi’s passport, centre, next to his daughter Niloofar, left, and wife Susan, right, after Radgoudarzi was detained for five hours upon his arrival from Tehran, Iran at San Francisco’s SFO International Airport. EPA
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1.15pm: The New York Post, citing the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), is reporting that federal customs agents are siding with president Trump — and willfully ignoring the court order that travellers from the seven countries are not deported.
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1.05pm: There's an official line from British PM Theresa May now. She says she does "not agree" with Trump's order and will challenge the US government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals.
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12.55pm: Airlines operating at Cairo airport were officially requested on Sunday to prevent US Immigration visa holders from the seven Muslim-majority countries from boarding flights to the US, Hossam Hussein, an EgyptAir official, told Reuters.
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12.20pm: As it stands, this is the statement on the website of Abu Dhabi's airline, Etihad Airways:
As a result of the Executive Order signed by the US President on 27 January 2017, US immigration entry requirements for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya have changed. Effective immediately, nationals from these countries may only travel to the US if they hold one of the following documents:
- a valid US Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) card, commonly known as a “Green Card”;
- Diplomatic visa;
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) visas;
- C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations;
- G-1, G-2, G-3 and G-4 visas; or
- valid passport from another country that allows US entry along with a valid US visa or ESTA as applicable for that passport.
It's worth noting that Emirates is carrying a similar statement on its website here
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Sabrina Sheikh, left, a naturalised citizen who immigrated from Pakistan at age two, and Arsalan Bukhari, right, hold up a flag that reads “We are America,” as more than 1,000 people gathered at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, to protest president Donald Trump’s order that restricts immigration to the US
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12.15pm: Reuters were in touch with a Sudanese student who was handcuffed in New York:
Nisrin Elamin, 39, a Stanford PhD student in anthropology who has lived in the United States since 1993, said she landed at John F Kennedy International Airport on Friday night and was detained for about five hours.
Elamin said she had been in Sudan for academic research and boarded a plane on Friday morning. After presenting her US green card, a designation of legal permanent residence, at JFK, she said she was questioned, patted down and handcuffed.
“It was an uncomfortable pat down, they touched my breast area and my groin area,” Elamin said in a phone interview. “Then I got handcuffed and I just started crying.”
Elamin said the handcuffs were soon removed and it appeared authorities were using them to escort people between areas of the airport.
Elamin was released, but she worried about leaving the country again and about her parents in Sudan, whom she hoped one day to help immigrate to America.
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12.10pm: A group of state attorneys general are discussing whether to file their own court challenge against President Donald Trump's order to restrict people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the United States, officials in three states told Reuters.
Officials in the offices of attorneys general in Pennsylvania, Washington and Hawaii said on Saturday they were evaluating what specific claims could be filed, and in which court.
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12.02pm: A statement has now been issued by the Department of Homeland Security. It said "President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place – prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the US government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety".
Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the White House, said: “Nothing in the Brooklyn judge’s order in anyway impedes or prevents the implementation of the president’s executive order which remains in full, complete and total effect.”
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11.55am: Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has spoken out on Twitter:
#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters.1/7
And here’s the full statement from Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs:
Full statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the #MuslimBan. 6/7 pic.twitter.com/Y3gAxT0B8m
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11.45am: Personal stories are doing the rounds on social media. Many of them feature confusion and sadness. Here's one from a woman who returned from the US to visit family in Tehran, but was then prevented from returning to the US when boarding a flight in Dubai.
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10.40am: According to Reuters, Trump will speak to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi Crwon Prince and deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, by phone today. He will also speak to King Salman of Saudi Arabia.
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10.30am: British prime minister Theresa May was last night pressed on her views on the Muslim ban, having visited Trump at the White House during the weekend. "The United States is responsible for the United States' policy on refugees. The United Kingdom is responsible for the United Kingdom's policy on refugees," she said at a news conference in Ankara, as she visited Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Read more on her Turkey trip here
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10.15am: Foreign Correspondent Zainab Sultan has been at JFK Airport in New York where hundreds of people gathered to protest. She described the confusion and anger:
As the numbers of protestors increased, police was seen cordoning off certain areas with barricades and police vehicles. Many people told The National that they were stopped from entering the airport citing security concerns and were asked to go back.
“We are trying to go to JFK to let our voices heard but they have blocked the AirTrain and they are not letting anybody in,” said New York resident, Lauren Gottleb. “He is not American and he does not have American values.”
Many passengers were seen left in a state of confusion as the police blocked people from getting on the train to get into JFK while many others who landed at JFK were seen joining the crowds in protest.
Suzanne Gardinier is a college professor at Sarah Lawrence in the city. “My students, my colleagues are terrified; terrified on one level but also as you can see from this, in real spirit, resisting it. No way will American people going to accept this.”
Hisham, left, and Mariam Yasin, centre, welcome their mother Najah Alshamieh, from Syria, after immigration authorities released her at Dallas Fort Worth Airport on Saturday. Brandon Wade / Star-Telegram via AP
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10.05am: Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has spoken out on social media against Trump's ban. He tweeted: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada." He also released these details among a series of tweets:
#ACanadianIsACanadian pic.twitter.com/6cqitwZJhE
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10.00am: Here's the latest summary of the situation from the Associated Press:
Foreign-born US residents who could have been barred from re-entering the United States under president Donald Trump’s immigration order have been allowed back into the country.
That’s according to a Department of Homeland Security official who briefed reporters on Saturday night. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorised to publicly discuss details of the matter.
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9.55am: Read The National's editorial on Trump's actions towards Muslims heading for the US here.
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9.35am: Judge Ann Donnelly, who issued the emergency order, said: Sending those travellers back to their home countries following Trump's order exposes them to "substantial and irreparable injury". She was appointed by Trump's Democratic predecessor Barack Obama.
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9.30am: The American Civil Liberties Union let the world know of its legal success this morning.
Victory!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/uyza3zrQSX
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9.20am: The judge's order overturning Trump's ban only affects a portion of the president's executive action, according to the Associated Press.
US District Judge Ann Donnelly in New York issued the emergency order after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.
As the decision was announced, cheers broke out in crowds of demonstrators who had gathered at American airports and outside the Brooklyn courthouse where the ruling was issued.
The order barred US border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the US with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.
It was unclear how quickly the judge’s order might affect people in detention, or whether it would allow others to resume flying.
“Realistically, we don’t even know if people are going to be allowed onto the planes,” said ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt. “This order would protect people who they allow to come here and reach U.S. soil.”
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9.15am UAE time: Morning all. It's been 24 hours of condemnation around the world after Trump's banning order on visitors from seven countries preventing them from entering the United States. The order raised the prospect of a restriction on travel for nearly 500,000 permanent residents in the US.
The situation is changing, however, as a federal judge issued an emergency order late last night temporarily barring the US from deporting people.
