Resource: Documents Reveal the Behind-the-Scenes Chaos of the Muslim Ban

At the end of the day on Friday, January 27, Donald Trump’s newly signed executive order banning travel to the United States from seven majority-Muslim countries began circulating among officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

As the agency in charge of admitting people to the country, CBP would have lead responsibility for implementing the president’s new policy. Emails and other government documents, released to The Intercept under the Freedom of Information Act, show how ill-prepared the agency was, crafting guidance on the fly and frantically adjusting its response as thousands of protesters descended on airports around the country.