Two Palestinian men with valid visas on an interfaith humanitarian mission were detained upon landing in San Francisco on Wednesday, according to their sponsor from a local synagogue.

A few dozen protesters arrived at the airport on Thursday morning to call for the release of the visitors, who are now facing deportation. The pair landed at San Francisco International Airport around 1 p.m. on Wednesday and have been detained since then, according to Phillip Weintraub, a Jewish organizer with Kehilla Community Synagogue in Piedmont coordinating their arrival.

The two men, whose names SFGATE is not publishing due to security concerns, planned on visiting Bay Area synagogues and churches on Friday to share their experiences of living in the West Bank. They also came to thank those houses of worship for their work to protect their village from settlers, who destroyed one of the visitor’s homes in June. Instead, their visas were revoked upon entry, Weintraub told SFGATE. 

“It’s extremely abnormal, just outrageous,” Weintraub said. “I really, really don’t know why other than, sadly, because of their Palestinian background.”

One of them had a five-year, multi-trip visa issued in September and the other had a visa issued for this visit, Weintraub added The man with the five-year visa has previously visited several times for the same purpose and met with congressional leaders, including the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. 

Customs and Border Patrol did not respond to questions in time for publication. An airport spokesperson directed questions to CBP.

Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who rushed to the airport on Wednesday night and again on Thursday morning, said it’s also his understanding that it’s a rare occasion at SFO.

“This is a fundamental violation of the First Amendment,” Mahmood told SFGATE. “It was with clear intention that they were trying to stop them from communicating their truth and preach peace. If this can happen at SFO, we’re in uncharted territories of constitutional crises that continue to build each day.”

In recent weeks, Los Angeles and San Francisco have been roiled by a surge in ICE activity and arrests that exploded into widespread protests. In Los Angeles, President Donald Trump bypassed Gov. Gavin Newsom to deploy the National Guard, as well as the Marines. Trump called for the arrest of Newsom on Monday, and Pentagon officials told Congress on Tuesday that the troops would remain there for 60 days, costing $134 million. 

Weintraub has had no direct communication with the two men and believes they are being held at a temporary holding facility in the airport. He said CBP told him that the next communication he would receive is when the two men are deported. Protesters are hoping to stop the deportation through public pressure. The Arab Resource & Organizing Center, based in San Francisco, put out a call via text and social media for people to come to SFO arrivals and press for the men’s release.

“These are folks on a humanitarian mission, trying to represent Christian and Palestinian and Jewish communities,” Weintraub said. “It’s really hard to know how quickly or slowly they’ll be turned back.”