Muslim Ban Day One: Airport Detentions, Legal Chaos, Federal Stays
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The executive order was signed without coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the Department of Defense, or the intelligence community. Customs and Border Protection received no guidance before implementation. Within hours, hundreds of travelers from the seven countries — including green card holders, refugees, and visa holders — were detained at airports or turned away from flights. Federal judges in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington state issued emergency stays within 24-48 hours. The order was eventually replaced by revised versions that were also challenged legally; the Supreme Court upheld the third version in Trump v. Hawaii (2018).
Overview
The travel ban was not implemented as a policy — it was detonated. Signed at 4:42 PM on a Friday afternoon, effective immediately, with no guidance to the agencies responsible for enforcement and no transition provisions for people already in transit.
Within hours, families were separated at international airports. Refugees who had completed years of vetting were turned back at gates. Green card holders — people with established legal status, homes, and jobs in the United States — were detained.
What Coordination Looked Like
John Kelly, as DHS Secretary, said he was not aware the order would apply to green card holders until after it was signed. CBP officers at ports of entry had received no guidance. State Department consular officers had not been briefed.
The implementing agencies of U.S. immigration policy learned their new orders the same way the public did — from news reports and a signed presidential document that offered no operational detail.
The Legal Response
Federal judges moved within hours. Judge Donnelly's stay in Brooklyn was followed by stays in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington state. Lawyers from the ACLU and other organizations worked through the night at airports, filing emergency motions and appearing before judges in the middle of the night.
The Supreme Court eventually upheld the third version of the ban in 2018. Justice Sotomayor's dissent — comparing the majority's reasoning to the Korematsu decision that had upheld Japanese American internment — recorded what the majority had avoided: that the ban was motivated by religious animus, as documented in Trump's own public statements.
Timeline
Sequence of events
January 27, 2017
EO 13769 signed; chaos at airports begins
Trump signs Executive Order 13769 at 4:42 PM. The order takes effect immediately. CBP officers at airports have no guidance. Travelers from the seven countries already in the air are detained on arrival; green card holders are initially treated as subject to the ban.
January 28, 2017
First federal stays issued
Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York issues the first emergency stay within hours, halting deportations of those already detained in the U.S. Judges in Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington state issue similar orders within 48 hours. Airport protests erupt nationwide.
January 29, 2017
DHS acknowledges green card confusion
DHS Secretary John Kelly issues a statement clarifying that green card holders should be allowed to travel. The administration acknowledges the lack of pre-implementation guidance. Acting AG Sally Yates orders DOJ not to defend the order; Trump fires her the same evening.
February 9, 2017
Ninth Circuit upholds stay
A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upholds a stay of the travel ban issued by a Washington state district court. The administration faces a national injunction.
March 6, 2017
EO revised — EO 13780 issued
Trump signs a revised travel ban removing Iraq from the list and adding exemptions. The revised order is also stayed by federal courts.
June 26, 2018
Supreme Court upholds third travel ban version
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 in Trump v. Hawaii that the third version of the travel ban (Proclamation 9645) is within presidential authority. Chief Justice Roberts writes for the majority; Justice Sotomayor's dissent compares the reasoning to Korematsu v. United States.
Sources
- ↑ Trump's Immigration Ban Sends Shockwaves Around the Globe — The New York Times
- ↑ Trump signs sweeping immigration order, suspending admission of refugees — The Washington Post
- ↑ Airports in chaos after Trump's travel ban; courts step in — The Associated Press
- ↑ ACLU Challenges Trump Administration's Illegal Travel Ban — ACLU
Verification