Airport Protests Across The Country Include BOI

If you followed the news this weekend, an Executive Order pertaining to immigration signed by President Trump led to airport protests across the country, including at BOI. 

I happened to be at the airport to drop a family member off around 2 p.m. on Sunday, and had the chance to observe and speak with a couple protesters.

The main message here was similar to other locations across the country, as those gathered chanted messages of welcome and inclusion for refugees and rejected the idea of the Executive Order signed by the President Friday.

It appeared to me to be orderly, peaceful, and passionate.  Our news partner, KTVB NewsChannel 7's report shows more.

While Boise is not an international airport, the city has welcomed between 1,000 and 1,100 refugees every year from multiple war-torn areas.

Boise welcomes a diverse group of refugees, including from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Iraq and Syria. The Treasure Valley receives a significant amount of refugees due to our area’s ability to provide housing and jobs to those who need to be relocated.

Under President Trump’s executive action, citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will not be allowed to enter the United States for the next 90 days. This current ban is a significantly broader ban than the one implemented under President Obama.

With Idaho home to an unknown amount of refugees from Syria and Iraq, we'll have to wait and see what that means for the future of our refugee efforts.