President Donald Trump’s new travel ban on a dozen mostly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday.
But despite tensions mounting across the country over immigration enforcement, the effect of the ban was not apparent at O’Hare Airport, where eight years ago during Trump’s first attempt at a travel ban, hundreds protested and over a dozen people were arrested.
Instead, dozens of protesters gathered Monday morning in Daley Plaza to denounce travel restrictions. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” García called on communities to hold nonviolent, mass protests across the country.
“Our communities are comprised of refugees and dreamers from every corner of the world, and all of us are under attack,” he said. “This is a war on our dignity, and dignity is not up for negotiation.”
García, a Chicago Democrat, said his office had not received any reports of people with valid visas being denied entry into the country at Chicago airports.
The travel ban, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don’t hold a valid visa.
The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected. Travelers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the U.S.
The ban follows a months-long campaign against immigration by Trump. During his first term, a hastily written executive order called for the denial of entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries, creating chaos at numerous airports and other ports of entry and prompting successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy.
But operations seemed normal at O’Hare’s international terminal hours into the ban.
Arriving at O’Hare on Monday afternoon, Iqbal Karim was stunned to learn that his native Sierra Leone is on an additional list from the White House that imposes heightened restrictions.
“At first I thought it was a joke,” Karim, 59, of Chicago, said.
Karim, a naturalized U.S. citizen, said he thinks the restrictions unfairly associate his native country with terrorism.
“I don’t think we belong [on the list]. It’s an easy-going and peaceful country,” he said.
Calvin Jackson arrived to O’Hare on Monday morning to pick up his 11-year-old son. A naturalized U.S. citizen and native of Liberia, he has been living in Minneapolis for the last 12 years.
Though the president’s travel ban doesn’t hit his nation, Jackson said it seems Trump’s travel restrictions are targeting poorer countries.
“If you can remember, that is not the first time Trump has targeted African countries,” Jackson said. During “the first Trump administration, he called African countries sh–hole countries.”
Karen Pride, spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Aviation, said there has been no effect to flights at O’Hare due to the travel ban. She said there are no direct flights to O’Hare from the impacted countries.
Advocates at the protest denounced the arrest of David Huerta, a prominent labor organizer from California who was arrested in Los Angeles as protests erupted in response to ICE raids. Some held signs showing Huerta’s face while others held signs stating, “Free David Huerta.” Huerta was released from jail Monday on $50,000 bond after a federal court hearing.
Trump deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles in response to the protests, and local organizers are demanding officials issue a plan for what will happen if Trump issues a similar order for Chicago.
Advocates also demanded an investigation into whether the Chicago Police Department violated local sanctuary laws last week amid protests when ICE began arresting immigrants at unexpected check-ins.
Fasika Alem, of the United African Organization, said they know of at least one man from Cameroon who was arrested during last week’s check-ins with ICE in Chicago. Another five asylum-seekers from Senegal with pending cases were recently detained by ICE after attending immigration court in Chicago, she said.
Patrick Brutus, co-founder of the Haitian American Professional Network in Chicago, said many in the Haitian community are appealing to their congressional representatives to reverse Trump’s travel ban while also organizing a protest for Saturday in Chicago.
“We feel very strongly that this ban, it’s going to impact families by separating them from their loved ones here in the states,” Brutus said. “It’s going to disrupt lives. It’s going to block access to life-saving opportunities, and in some cases, it’s going to cause real harm to those who aren’t able to flee harsh conditions right now that are shaped by violence and lawlessness not only in Haiti but in Africa as well.”
Nadiah Alyafai, an organizer with the Arab American Action Network, described Trump’s travel ban as anti-Muslim and anti-Black. She said the ban, along with other immigration enforcement actions, have created fear in the community for Yemenis even though many hold legal permanent resident status in the Chicago area.
“Under the successive attacks of this administration, even that status offers no guarantee of safety or security,” she said. “We are witnessing a deliberately targeted effort to undermine our rights, our freedoms and our dignities.”
Contributing: Associated Press