Throngs of passionate protesters marched, waved signs and staged a sit-in Sunday at Los Angeles International Airport, demanding President Donald Trump lift his executive order affecting refugees as well as certain nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Chanting "Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" and "Let them in," the protesters gathered first at the Tom Bradley International Terminal but then marched around the lower Central Terminal Area, forcing rolling closures of some lanes of traffic.

• Photos: Thousands protest at LAX against President Tump's travel ban

Flight operations were unaffected and no arrests were made, airport officials said. However, traffic was gridlocked at times trying to get into and out of the airport.

Among the thousands of protesters at the airport was Matthew Pagoaga, 32, of Highland Park, who held a sign adorned with an image of the "Star Wars" character Yoda that read "Fear leads to Anger, Anger leads to Hate, Hate leads to Suffering."

"There's never been anything so atrocious in our political system, discriminating against whole groups of people based on religion," he said. "We can't protect ourselves by hating other people."

Immigration rights attorneys were on hand in several terminals to advise the families of anyone detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.