Amid growing public, political, and legal opposition to President Donald Trump's order barring many Muslims from entering the U.S., protests against the ban are set for today in cities and towns across the country.
"A religious test for refugees is unlawful and discriminatory, and it flies in the face of American values. People across the country are standing up to demand that Congress block this Muslim ban," said Margaret Huang, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA.
Amnesty International members will hold protests this afternoon and tonight outside the White House, in New York's Union Square, in Boston's Dewey Square, at Chicago's Trump Tower, in Oakland's Frank Ogawa Plaza, at Los Angeles International Airport, and in other cities and towns, including universities in Arizona and Florida. People across the world also continue speaking out via social media, using the hashtag #NoBanNoWall.
Yesterday, thousands of people attended protests in Brooklyn, Washington, DC, Virginia, Illinois, New Hampshire, and elsewhere. Also yesterday, several thousand people had conversations with their Senators' staff members about the Muslim ban, through Amnesty's SMS/text phone call program.
Two national, scientific polls show that the majority of the U.S. public opposes the Muslim ban. A Reuters poll earlier this week and a CBS News poll released today both show majority opposition to the ban. Meanwhile, a growing number of states have taken action to block the Muslim ban from being enforced. In the last 24 hours, officials in Virginia, New York, and Oregon have taken steps to try to block the ban. This morning, a federal judge in Michigan blocked enforcement of the ban, as several other courts nationwide have done over the last week.