Demonstrations against President Trump's travel ban continued for a second night Sunday at JFK Airport, following earlier rallies Sunday in Lower Manhattan.
About 150 protesters were at JFK's Terminal 4 chanting and beating drums Sunday night, in opposition to President Trump's executive order banning entry to the U.S. by residents of seven Muslim-majority countries.
Officials with the New York Immigration Coalition said that, as of 7 p.m. Sunday, up to 20 travelers from banned countries were being held at JFK, with two having been deported earlier.
However, the Department of Homeland Security told NY1's Courtney Gross that there were no detainees being held at JFK as of 9:30 p.m.
According to the coalition, the number of detainees was as high as 52 over the weekend, and as of Sunday night two of those travelers had been detained at the airport for more than 24 hours. Coalition officials said that despite widespread understanding that green card holders were not going to be detained, the group at JFK was a mix of green card holders, visa holders, and family members of United States citizens.
In a statement issued Sunday evening, officials with the Department of Homeland Security said they were working to carry out Trump's orders while maintaining the rights of those affected.
"We are committed to ensuring that all individuals affected by the executive orders, including those affected by the court orders, are being provided all rights afforded under the law," the statement said. "We are also working closely with airline partners to prevent travelers who would not be granted entry under the executive orders from boarding international flights to the U.S. Therefore, we do not anticipate that further individuals traveling by air to the United States will be affected."
The statement added, "In applying the provisions of the president's executive order, the entry of lawful permanent residents is in the national interest. Accordingly, absent significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations."
Earlier in the day, Mayor de Blasio joined thousands of marchers in Lower Manhattan.
"We have seen an order that makes no sense on its face. It is filled with contradictions, has caused confusion. But under all that we see the beginning of the degradation of our civil liberties and our constitutional rights," de Blasio said at a rally Sunday in Battery Park. "We are not fooled. We know where this leads and how dangerous it is."
Protesters also marched to Foley Square, chanting, "No ban, no wall."
Hundreds of police officers were in Foley Square to make sure protesters stuck to what appeared to be a pre-approved route.
Some streets were closed to allow demonstrations in the area.
A variety of activists and organizations marched from the Manhattan park to 26 Federal Plaza, the site of many federal government agencies.
Participants included members of the National Immigration Law Center and Service Employees Union 32BJ, who said they want to show solidarity with the refugees and immigrants being detained at airports around the country.
The protesters were scattered around the tip of Battery Park for a few hours before they went on the move.
De Blasio, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and other elected officials spoke prior to the march, saying the travel ban is unconstitutional and must be rescinded immediately.
Trump's order, which he signed Friday, bans entry to the United States by residents of seven Muslim-majority countries — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen —for the next 90 days.
The Queens native's executive order also bans U.S. entry of those fleeing war-torn Syria indefinitely, and bans the admission of all refugees for the next four months.
The executive director of the Port Authority, Pat Foye, said the federal government has put a chokehold on providing information about the exact number of travelers being detained.
A federal judge in Brooklyn had issued a stay on the executive order Saturday, preventing deportations of those people if they have valid visas.
The stay, which covers the entire country, awaits further legal review.
That judge's ruling, however, does not prevent people from still being detained.
Trump said Christian refugees will be given priority over Muslims.
The White House said Sunday that green card holders will not be affected moving forward.