Around 2,000 people marched in Center City Saturday afternoon to protest President Trump's travel and immigration ban.
The March for Humanity began at 1 p.m. as protesters, many accompanied by children and wearing heavy jackets, scarves and caps to protect against the bitter cold, gathered at Thomas Paine Plaza. Street closures went into effect as the crowd marched on Broad Street from City Hall.
The demonstrators held signs, many saying "No Ban No Wall," and cheered as speakers excoriated the president's executive order a week ago to suspend America's refugee program and halt immigration to the U.S. from seven Muslim-majority countries that the U.S. says raise terrorism concerns.
Police say the march was peaceful and no arrests were made.
The march led to rolling street closures around City Hall and down Market Street to Independence Hall where Vice President Mike Pence addressed the Federalist Society around noon.
SEPTA urged passengers to use certain rail lines ahead of the march. The public transportation service suggested riding the Market-Frankford and Broad Street subway lines as the best way to get into Center City. The trains run about every 10 minutes.
Passengers traveling from outside the city can connect with the Market-Frankford Line at Frankford Transportation Center and 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby, SEPTA advises.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
The Broad Street Line is served from AT&T Station in South Philadelphia to the Fern Rock Transportation Center in Fern Rock.
Airlines reversed the travel ban overnight after a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's order.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer called the order "outrageous" in a statement released late Friday and said the DOJ plans to file an emergency stay to defend the president's executive action. Soon after, the White House sent out a new statement that removed the word "outrageous."
As the White House worked to reinstate the ban, Trump mocked U.S. District Judge James Robart, appointed by President George W. Bush, as a "so-called judge" whose "ridiculous" ruling "will be overturned."
Trump's direct attack recalled his diatribes during the campaign against a federal judge of Mexican heritage who was overseeing a Trump University case. Justice Department lawyers could be called upon to answer for his words as the travel ban case reaches the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
