Activist: 2 Somali-Americans From Mpls. Detained At U.S. Airports
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A community activist says at least two Somali-American men from Minneapolis were detained at U.S. airports Saturday following President Donald Trump's immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority nations.
Omar Jamal says one man was sent back to Kenya from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, while the other is still being held in Chicago.
"Confused," Jamal said. "This is something out of the ordinary. Everybody thought that they were legal."
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Jamal said both men are legal residents, and have green cards that show they have immigration benefits. He said the men are on the way to living in the U.S. on a permanent basis.
"It's a new chapter," he said. "Where will it stop?"
Jamal said family members of these two men aren't sure what to do next.
"They are afraid," he said. "The basic reality of their residence is being questioned. Nobody knows who's going to be next."
Following this weekend's protests and a federal court ruling against Trump's policy, Jamal said he expects some changes to the immigration order in the next week. He says there are volunteer attorneys stationed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International -- and other airports across the country -- to help detainees get through the system.
"The Trump administration has to realize that, at the end of the day, they need friends, they need allies to fight the war on terror," Jamal said. "They cannot do it by themselves."
Jamal said the Trump and Obama administrations have been trying to strike a balance between combating terrorism and disrupting peoples' lives.
"The Obama administration has miserably failed in the war on terror, and Trump is trying to do something about it," Jamal said. "They are trying different strategies, and they're having a backlash."
