After Trump’s Immigration Ban, DFW Detainees And Families Reel From Harrowing Weekend

All day Saturday, the crowd at D/FW’s international terminal — Terminal D — kept growing.

By Stella M. ChávezJanuary 30, 2017 9:30 am, , , ,

From KERA News

Early Saturday morning, Khalied Abdaan drove from his home in Oklahoma City to D/FW. He and his 9-year-old daughter were excited to pick up his 77-year-old mother. They never thought they’d end up at the airport all day and into the night…waiting.

“Set them free. Now. Set them free. Now…”

 They also couldn’t have have imagined hundreds of protesters, holding signs and chanting, would join them in solidarity.

“The people united will never be divided. The people united will never be divided. Muslim rights are human rights. Muslim rights are human rights…”

Abdaan was worried when first he heard about Trump’s executive order to keep people from several countries from entering the U.S. But, when his mother’s plane departed from Dubai, he thought she would be OK.

 As midnight came, and Saturday turned to Sunday, Abdaan and his daughter were exhausted, and still waiting.

“They shouldn’t be detained and they shouldn’t be treated like this,” he said. “I mean, she had a valid visa and she followed the law.”

He was one of several relatives stuck in limbo and frustrated. They couldn’t see their loved ones, and their cell phone contact was limited. Abdaan lamented his poor timing.

“If I could just change the date. Two days earlier is gonna be good and two days in the future is gonna be good, because two days in the future, I would save her the trouble and the suffering she’s been put through.”

All day Saturday, the crowd at D/FW’s international terminal — Terminal D — kept growing. They brought signs, wrapped themselves in flags and made a lot of noise. Police roped off the area with yellow tape, making room for travelers passing by. They estimated at least 1,000 people were there.

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