New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat thought to have national political ambitions, showed up late Saturday night at Washington Dulles International Airport to give a speech to protesters who were there denouncing President Trump's executive order banning refugees from entering the U.S.

.@CoryBooker gives an impromptu speech to protestors at Dulles Airport outside of Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/KhbeOcbcNi— Axios (@axios) January 29, 2017



It wasn't clear how many people had been detained by Customs and Border Protection at the airport and if they were legal permanent residents of the United States.

The agency did prevent people who have the legal right to live in the U.S. from having access to a lawyer, the Daily Beast reported, even after a federal judge in Virginia ruled Saturday the travelers had that right.

When Booker arrived, he said he came to help free the detained travelers.

"I am now of the belief that though this was issued by the judicial branch, that it was violated tonight," he said, holding up a piece of paper. "And so one of the things I will be doing is fighting to make sure that the executive branch abides by the law as it was issued in this state and around the nation. This will be an ongoing battle."

Booker announced to cheers that travelers who had been detained at the airport would be released.

He said that more travelers would likely be detained in coming days and urged protesters to keep up the fight.

"We see tonight what I believe is a clear violation of the Constitution," he continued. "And so clearly tonight we have to commit ourselves to the longer fight. Clearly tonight, we have to commit ourselves to the cause of our country. Clearly tonight, we have to be determined to show this world what America is all about."

Trump signed an executive order Friday that halted the country's refugee resettlement program for 120 days and banned Syrian refugees from the United States indefinitely.

People from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya are also prohibited from entering the U.S. for 90 days.