It took six long hours to free Syrian and Iranian travelers at Orlando International Airport

While President Donald Trump’s executive orders continued wrecking the plans of travelers across the United States on Sunday, Orlando’s response and embrace of the immigrants affected was customarily swift and sunny.

The Trump presidency continues to pile on the burdens, so protests have already become a weekly routine for many Floridians. Over the past weekend, a group called Support Central Florida Muslim Community worked to organize an Airport Rally to Support Central Florida Muslims. Sunday's protesters at Orlando International Airport were probably unaware that several of the loved ones of those being held walked through the protest in witness, a few moved to tears by what they saw.

I work frequently with Orlando immigration attorney Henry Lim, and we arrived at the Sunday protest meeting early, before Lim was called to assist the two Central Florida families inside, one Syrian and one Iranian, just as the protests were forming.

The pairing of an organized protest originating outside of MCO, with a patient waiting session inside between officials and the families of travelers affected, showed what cheerful resistance looks like when faced with terrifying new policies. Once inside, the organized protesters kept near enough to be seen and heard by those affected without disrupting the release of the travelers.



These photos show the effort from inside the airport, as a member of congress and a handful of immigration attorneys kept watch with friends and family members of the three who were held.