USC student Rawan Masri, who detained Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport after protesting against Trump's immigration ban, said she has no regrets.
Masri, along with thousands of other people, flocked to LAX over the weekend after Trump signed an executive order on Friday that banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen — for 90 days. The order also banned refugee resettlement for 120 days and Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. indefinitely.
Masri said she encouraged the crowd to rally around the cause of an Iranian woman with stage four breast cancer who was reportedly held without her medication. Moments later, she said, she was handcuffed along with her friend. Female officers zip-tied her wrists together and took her to a holding cell.
"It would be really scary if nobody showed up…if there were no protests and everyone was OK," Masri said. "It's important to not let business go on as usual and not act like it's normal," she said, explaining her decision to protest.
Masri said she overheard the officers arguing about what to charge her with. One option, she said, was disturbing the peace. In California, that crime can be charged as a misdemeanor, which might subject her to jail time, or as an infraction, for which she would be released and pay at most a $250 fine. After hours of deliberation, officers decided to dole out an infraction instead of misdemeanor, she said.
When Masri arrived at LAX, the demonstrations had already slowed traffic to a crawl. She said it was difficult to park her car, and noticed that many travelers were frustrated that they might miss their flights. But for Masri, missing a flight was not as important as being involved in the protest.
"If you feel inconvenienced about missing your flight imagine these people who have been held for hours and some people are getting deported," she said.
According to Masri, people took turns leading chants and telling their stories through a megaphone while helmeted police corralled protesters to the sidewalk to keep traffic moving. She said they were trying to reach an agreement between Customs and Border Protection and the police to let detained travelers free.
"The entire concept of us debating whether we are going to let refugees from the people in the countries…most of them we are currently bombing and helping the devastation is morally reprehensible," Masri said.
Even though Masri was arrested, she says she will not change her view about the immigration ban. "Me getting arrested doesn't change how I feel about all that."
Reach reporter Hawken Miller here.
Annenberg Media