Hours after President Trump signed an executive order that he claims will eventually reverse his policy of forcibly separating immigrant families at the border, a local airport was once again transformed into a site for enraged New Yorkers to protest the administration, and to lay down a welcome mat for the victims of the president's most heartless policies.

Late Wednesday night, in response to social media reports that migrant children were still arriving on flights from Texas, hundreds of New Yorkers descended on LaGuardia Airport, where they unfurled signs reading "Bienvenidos a New York" and sung Mexican folk songs as they waited to greet the kids. The spontaneous demonstration—reminiscent of last year's mass protest at JFK—capped off a day in which New Yorkers learned that at least 239 of the separated kids had been transferred to the New York area.

The protesters, gathered in multiple terminals, had trouble determining where the migrant kids were arriving from. But videos posted online show groups of young children wearing matching sweatshirts and carrying government-issued belongings as they walked through the gates. One video showed a group of girls silently packing into a van.

Earlier tonight we saw a group of immigrant children arrive at La Guardia, one as young as 5 or 6 years old. How long will it take to reunite these children with their families? The Trump Administration must be held accountable. #MoralEmergency #FreedomForImmigrants pic.twitter.com/aSRYFBSb5x — JewishAction (@jewishaction) June 21, 2018

Many of those in attendance—about 300 people in total—arrived in response to calls from activists and advocacy groups like Make the Road, Bend the Arc, and United We Dream. Addressing the crowd, Stosh Cotler, the leader of Bend the Arc, explained, “Tonight at about 7:30 I received a text from a woman on an American Airlines flight, who saw about seven young people being transported from Texas to LaGuardia. This incredible woman . . . just saw something she knew was wrong and took action."

The crowd remained strong well into the night, and didn't full disperse until around 3 a.m. Early Thursday morning, one activist with Make the Road New York told the Washington Post, "We've been here since 10 p.m. when we heard there were young people on flights coming from Texas and other places. We’re here to welcome anyone who comes, especially young people.”

Happening NOW at LaGuardia Airport in NYC: citizens gathering to greet kids separated from their parents by the Trump administration #FamiliesBelongTogether #FreedomforImmigrants pic.twitter.com/sRXpR7Ndq8 — ACLU (@ACLU) June 21, 2018

Almost 1:30am at LaGuardia and these two signs are just so powerful. This is why we are here and why we must fight this. #Resist #endfamilyseparation pic.twitter.com/LAdxz9LF8M — Jimmy Van Bramer (@JimmyVanBramer) June 21, 2018

Terminals are packed with HUNDREDS of NYers who showed up in solidarity for children, with messages of love, singing in Spanish, “Cielito Lindo”.#FamiliesBelongTogether#FreedomForImmigrants#AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/ftiGirUSpK — Make the Road NY (@MaketheRoadNY) June 21, 2018

A spokesperson for American Airlines—which earlier in the day announced it would not be flying separated children on their planes—said that government officials had assured the airline that the teenagers on their flight were not among those taken from their parents. The Times reports that some of the flight attendants on board were "visibly distraught" after the children deplaned. “They lied to us," one flight attendant said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the agency was looking into the matter.

The number of children who arrived in New York after the president signed the executive order is not known, and it remains unclear whether the federal government has any plans to reunite the separated kids them with their families. This morning, Senator Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Trump calling on him to take "immediate action to reunify families":

Schumer & Pelosi send letter to @realDonaldTrump calling on him to take immediate steps to reunite the children who were separated from their parents before his executive order: pic.twitter.com/0IVWn0aMCL — Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) June 21, 2018

On Wednesday, the leader of one of the facilities in which the children are staying told Gothamist that many of the kids arriving in her care have no family members in the region, and no way to connect with their detained parents.

"There doesn't seem to be a method for this," the person said. "We get a phone call from ORR and they say, 'Hey, we're arriving at JFK. We have three kids with us.'"

“My heart was broken tonight when I was following one of the kids that landed about 8:45. He seemed disoriented and he was really scared. I spoke to him in Spanish & I told him: I LOVE YOU, WE’RE HERE WITH YOU.“ - @CrisAlexJimenez, from @UNITEDWEDREAM pic.twitter.com/VJGoHRIr7R — Make the Road NY (@MaketheRoadNY) June 21, 2018

“our tax dollars are paying ICE and CBP agents to terrorize our communities and lock children in detention camps. Our immigrant brothers and sisters are somebodies, and they deserve full equality right now”. This is a sea of people who showed up at midnight in LaGuardia Airport pic.twitter.com/4X9ZbYlxRO — Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) June 21, 2018

We can't be silent. We won't be silent.



Our government is sending hundreds of separated children to NYC, with no plan to reunite them with their families. We are at La Guardia tonight bearing witness. This is a #MoralEmergency. #FreedomForImmigrants pic.twitter.com/9OiaPzEdat — JewishAction (@jewishaction) June 21, 2018