Once again, images show colossal crowds taking to the streets against Trump
For now at least, this might be our new normal.
One week after a massive Women's March on Washington and similar marches across the world in defiance of President Trump and concerns over a rollback of rights, a rising tide of outrage again sent Americans into city streets.
The first ripples began with protests at about a dozen airports Saturday over Trump's executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
From Seattle to Newark, Houston to Boston, hundreds jammed airport terminals — lawyers, immigration advocates, ordinary citizens compelled to the front lines, many refusing to leave until those who had been detained by U.S. Customs had been freed or had obtained legal counsel.
On Sunday, the movement caught fire and demonstrations and rallies erupted in communities across the U.S. from city halls to airports to parks. In the nation's capital, the site of the march that drew a crushing 500,000 people Jan. 21, Pennsylvania Avenue was shut down Sunday as thousands trekked from the White House to the U.S. Capitol. An energized crowd stopped outside Trump's showcase hotel along the avenue to shake fists and chant "shame."
Boston
Boston's Copley Square, the public square packed with runners when bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon in 2013, was a sea of signs and electrified demonstrators hoisting placards saying "deport hate" and "immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, we will stand with you."
San Francisco
At San Francisco International Airport, hundreds of people choked the international terminal. Signs blared "resist," "1939/2017 never again" and "due process for all." A phalanx of lawyers lined up, offering free legal aid to refugees affected by the executive order. Thunderous applause broke out when teachers and union reps were introduced.
Charlottesville, Va.
College campuses were also spurred to action Sunday. At the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, hundreds of students and community members flocked to the Rotunda, the esteemed centerpiece of Thomas Jefferson's university. They chanted — "2, 4, 6, 8, we don't want your wall of hate" — and read an open letter on behalf of DREAMers on Ground, a student organization dedicated to undocumented students.
New York
And in New York, residents poured into subway stations en route to Battery Park for a second straight day of protests. Demonstrators filled the park, some shouting slogans such as "no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here." As the crowd continued to balloon through the afternoon, the office of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: "We stand with the 5,000 (and growing!) New Yorkers in Battery Park."
Not long after, came an addendum: "Make that 10,000 (and growing!)"
Los Angeles
Thousands of demonstrators crowded outside Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday, chanting and toting signs, to protest the ban. They were met not only by squads of police in riot gear but by a knot of Trump supporters who stayed across the street from them. They also held up signs and American flags as they tried to engage the crowd with a loudspeaker.
Protesters filled the sidewalks in front of terminal, banging drums and chanting "Donald Trump has got to go!"
Paul Blair, 35, of Los Angeles said he made his first ever protest sign for the occasion. It read, "Cruelty is not strength."
"I've never made a sign before in my life," he told USA TODAY, adding that he felt he had to take action. "If I stayed home and did my routine, I (would feel like) I was supporting the policies."
Seattle
More than 1,000 people packed the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Saturday to protest the immigration ban.
The next day, protests filled the streets surrounding Westlake Park in downtown Seattle. The marched downtown carrying signs that read "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here" and "Pay forward the American dream."
Contributing: Jon Swartz, USA TODAY, Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY and Mitchell Wellman, USA TODAY College.Follow Susan Miller on Twitter: @susmiller