Trump Refugees Boston
In this Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 photo, Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks to a crown gathered at Logan Airport in Boston. On Friday, Jan. 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all immigration from countries with terrorism concerns for 90 days. Warren had the more than 1,000 who gathered repeat after her: "It's illegal; it will be overturned." (Nicolaus Czarnecki/The Boston Herald via AP)
(Nicolaus Czarnecki)
Massachusetts' congressional delegation continued to stand strong this week against President Donald Trump's immigration executive order, urging Customs and Border Protection at Boston's Logan International Airport to comply with a court order blocking the so-called travel ban.
In a Wednesday letter to Clint Lamm, the Boston Area Port Director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Massachusetts' two senators and nine congressmen called for officers to immediately and fully comply with the temporary restraining order.
Pointing to reports that students, academics and others looking to enter the country through Logan Airport have been detained under the president's executive order, lawmakers stressed that such actions are prohibited under the court order.
The temporary restraining order, which will remain in effect through Feb. 5, states that CBP and others shall not detain or remove individuals with refugee applications approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of the U.S. Refugee Admissions program, as well as those with valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, lawful permanent residents and others who, absent the executive order, would be legally authorized to enter the U.S., the lawmakers wrote.
The court order further directs CBP to notify airlines with flights arriving at Logan Airport of the order and that individuals on them will not be detained or turned away solely based on the president's executive action, the letter stated.
"It is a bedrock principle of our democracy that it is the province of the courts to say what the law is. Court orders must be respected and followed," delegation members wrote. "Under the terms of the temporary restraining order, it is clear that, through Feb. 5, and perhaps longer if the temporary restraining order is extended, no international travelers arriving at Logan Airport may be detained or removed based on the executive order's provisions, and that CBP must so notify airlines carrying those passengers."
U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts; and U.S. Reps. Richard Neal, D-Springfield; Jim McGovern, D-Worcester; Bill Keating, D-Bourne; Michael Capuano, D-Somerville; Stephen Lynch, D-South Boston; Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell; Katherine Clark, D-Melrose; Joseph Kennedy III, D-Brookline; and Seth Moulton, D-Salem, signed the letter.
The Massachusetts delegation's call for compliance with the temporary restraining order came days after Trump signed an executive order that barred Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocked citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the country for 90 days.
The executive action sparked weekend protests at airports across the country, including Logan Airport, where Warren decried Trump's order as illegal and unconstitutional.
Members of the state's congressional delegation also took aim at the president earlier this week, following reports that Trump fired the acting attorney general for refusing to back his contentious executive order.