Donations to humanitarian and rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (A.C.L.U.)  amounted to $24 million since Saturday, the first full day after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning immigration from seven majority Muslim countries from entering the US.

According to The Insider, it is sharply six times more than the amount usually received by ACLU in a weekend. Records show many of the people who donated to the ACLU had never donated before. 

The order bars the admission of people from these seven Muslim-majority countries - Syria, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - for 90 days. The order also suspends all refugee admission for 120 days and bars Syrian refugees for an indefinite period.

ACLU, a non-profit organization working to protect human rights and liberties guaranteed in the constitution, usually raises about $ 4 million online a year, said ACLU executive director Anthony Romero.

Romero admitted that this is a very difficult time in the US. He also added that people are curious to know what they could do to help protect human rights.

According to an article on Market Watch, a federal judge in Brooklyn has blockedpart of the ban last Saturday and this has allowed for the release of refugees and immigrants detained at US airports. It further stated the ACLU was one of the organizations that slapped a lawsuit on behalf of two refugees from Iraq detained at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport, prompting the stay. 

The donation could also have most likely been beefed up by the celebrities who have tweeted their support and offered to match fan's donations-including Sia, Judd Apatow and Rosie O'Donnell who offered to match up to $100,000 in the donation to the ACLU.

The ACLU plans to utilize the donation by protecting the rights and liberties of the people across the US and the first thing that they would do is hire about 200 staff members, mostly lawyers.