One woman is a linguistics scholar at Stony Brook University. Another, the wife of a man in Ohio, who tearfully told him that they wouldn't be reunited after she returned from visiting her family in Iran.
The two women were among more than a dozen held at John F. Kennedy International Airport, caught up by President Donald Trump's restrictive executive order on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.
Six people remained detained at JFK on Sunday evening, said U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley. He said all were expected to be released Sunday night.
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Protesters at Battery Park on Sunday.
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Protesters hold signs at Battery Park on Sunday.
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A crowd gathers at Battery Park.
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Seeing something, saying something, and a selfie.
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A sign and a knit cap for a winter protest.
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The subway station at Battery Park was packed on Sunday as people gathered to protest.
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Getting signs ready at the subway station.
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Holding a handmade sign at the Battery Park protest.
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Demonstrators deliver their messages through signs.
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Getting signs ready for the demonstration.
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Clapping at a demonstration for immigrants in Bryant Park.
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Protesters hold signs in Battery Park.
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A kind message from this protester.
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Protesters hold signs at Battery Park.
A child rests during the long protest.
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A wall of protesters at Battery Park on Sunday.
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Thousands of immigration activists and demonstrators staged a protest at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 4 within hours of hearing news about Muslim detainees being held in custody by Customs and Border Partrol officials.
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A demonstrator holds a sign in support of refugees at JFK Airport Saturday. President Trump signed the controversial executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days Friday.
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A Muslim woman prays as protesters gather at Terminal 4 to demonstrate against President Donald Trump's executive order.
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A demonstrator completes a makeshift sign challenging the immigrant travel ban enacted by President Trump and his administration Friday.
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Immigration activists hold up signs demanding immigrants be allowed to enter the country alongside the entry road to JFK's Terminal 4.
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A demonstrator continues to chant as an NYPD officer apprehends him.
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Nydia Velazquez speaks to a crowd as protesters gathered outside JFK airport Terminal 4. She was joined by U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, both of who helped to negotiate the release of an Iraqi man detained at the airport. PHOTOGRAPH BY Joel Sheakoski / Barcroft Images London-T:+44 207 033 1031 E:hello@barcroftmedia.com - New York-T:+1 212 796 2458 E:hello@barcroftusa.com - New Delhi-T:+91 11 4053 2429 E:hello@barcroftindia.com www.barcroftimages.com (Photo credit should read Joel Sheakoski / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
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A man carrying two boxes of pizza curiously looks on as he makes his way through a crowd of chanting activists.
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Demonstrators stand in a parking garage holding an upside down American flag. Though Friday's executive order bans entry to people from seven Middle East nations, President Trump said it is "not a Muslim ban".
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An activist brandishes a sign calling for the release of detainees at JFK Airport during the rally.
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Police take security measures with a mesh net during the demonstration against President Trump's indefinite ban of entry against Syrian refugees and 90-day ban against immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.
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A woman speaks into a megaphone as others hold signs during the protest. Despite their status as legal residents, visa-holders from banned countries were also barred from U.S. entry and detained at airports nationwide.
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NYPD officers intervened and arrested several demonstrators throughout the protest.
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New York Police officers stand guard as demonstrators gather outside and in the garages of JFK Airport.
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By nightfall, thousands of demonstrators gathered at the airport to protest President Trump's travel ban.
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A group of men hold up signs in solidarity with immigrants at JFK.
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A participant tries to snap a photo of the sea of demonstrators below on her cellphone.
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Demonstrators even climbed street signs and traffic posts to hold up signs and ensure their message was heard.
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A demonstrator watched the rally from the darkness of an elevated garage.
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This demonstrator decided to multitask and snack while participating in the rally.
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Signs about equality and immigrant rights were seen for miles at JFK Airport Saturday.
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The colorful signs of demonstrators were reflected on the Terminal's glass walls.
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A pair of demonstrators asked onlookers to remember what America stands for while standing on the sidelines.
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A woman holds a sign that reassures immigrants that they are welcome in the U.S., despite what President Trump and his administration say.
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Inspired by Prince, one demonstrator quotes lines from the late musician's "1999" song.
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A woman participating in the protest leans over the ledge of an elevated garage at the demonstrators below.
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Signs bearing phrases of positivity and support were aplenty at the day-long demonstration that carried into the evening.
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A sign bearing the often-used phrase "Love Trumps Hate" could be seen in the sea of demonstrators at the Saturday night rally.
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Police officers cautiously watch on as rally participants brandished signs until after 10 p.m.
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One demonstrator recalls New York City's sanctuary status to anyone whose eye caught their sign.
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Tons of handmade signs bobbed throughout the crowd of thousands.
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JFK's AirTrain service experienced delays after thousands of protesters crowded underneath the rail.
Iman Alknfushe, who has a green card, was released Sunday afternoon where her family and crowds of supporters were waiting.
"We are very happy," her daughter said.
One of the detainees is Parisa Fasihianifard, a 24-year-old who was visiting family members in Iran before she returned to the U.S. Saturday to be with her husband, who lives in Ohio. The meeting never was — she called him saying she was detained because of the president's executive order.
Fasihianifard told her spouse she was interviewed in a small room for 14 hours. She managed to sleep in a chair, but she woke up to her fate hanging in the balance. Her husband tells News 4 she's now been detained for more than 24 hours.
Also detained was Vahideh Rasekhi, a Ph.D. candidate in her 30s studying linguistics at SUNY Stony Brook. Rasekhi arrived Saturday afternoon; her friends told News 4 she was interviewed for over 12 hours.
Before she was put on a plane at 1 a.m., officials told Rasekhi she was going back to Iran before she was told to disembark the plane.
Rasekhi was released shortly before noon, according to United Nations Correspondent for BBC's Persian Service Balman Kalbasi, who tweeted a photo of her after her release.
