Reeling from President Donald Trump’s executive order that bans individuals from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the United States—even if they have been granted refugee status or hold green cards—cities across the country continued mobilizing for the third straight day.
Some 10,000 protesters gathered in Battery Square Park in lower Manhattan, to listen to an array of speakers; from grassroots organizers Linda Sarsour of Mpower Change and Steven Choi of the New York Immigration Coalition to New York State Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
“Being held and detained without a charge, something fundamentally against our Constitution—we saw it with our own eyes yesterday,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in his address to the crowd. “We need to build a broader coalition of conscience in this country to stop what’s happening here.”
The sanctioned march, organized by the New York Immigration Coalition and Make the Road New York, wound through the financial district to Federal Plaza, which houses many federal agencies like the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). ICE became known through the Obama administration for raiding the homes of and detaining undocumented immigrants.
Protesters rallied under the chant “No ban, no wall, this our New York!”
“What we’re talking about is not in the abstract. These are human beings that are being impacted by this racist, white supremacist, white nationalist administration,” said Linda Sarsour, Palestinian-American activist with Mpower Change. “When we talk about banning the very people who are escaping the very terrorism that we are claiming that we are fighting against, that is despicable and outrageous.”
Syrian refugee and activist Lubna, who landed in JFK in May 2014 “with nothing,” reflected the consternation and uncertainty caused by the sweeping executive orders.
“Yesterday I was wondering if I [made] the wrong decision by coming to this country. I was so depressed,” Lubna told the crowd. “And then I saw the news, and I just realized, no, we should never doubt that America is the land of immigrants.
“This government offered me nothing. I got every opportunity in this country because of people like you, I was offered opportunities by people who never doubted that I would be good enough just because I’m Syrian or just because I’m an asylum seeker. You are the reason why this country is great, you are the reason why we [refugees] will have a second chance in life.”
Amid an increased local and state police presence, activists joined with tourists on the AirTrain to terminal four of John F. Kennedy Airport where solidarity actions had continued nonstop since Homeland Security officials first detained over 100 people. Similar actions were happening simultaneously in Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Dulles, Logan and other airports across the country.
Around 150 protesters remained at JFK’s Terminal Four on Sunday night, as drivers in the flood of traffic honked in support.
“This is what Iranian hospitality looks like,” one woman’s sign read as she served protestors Sabzi. Others walked around offering coffee, sweets and donuts.
One of the organizers with the New York Immigration Coalition told the crowd that authorities were still holding nearly 20 travelers as of 8 p.m., despite an emergency ruling from a federal judge in Brooklyn who issued a stay on the executive order Saturday.
I just forced myself to watch a video of Trump speaking. The US is supposed to look at, and listen to that, for four years? Can’t wait for the fireside chats.
Well, two years til the midterms. Has Trump ever dealt with anyone he couldn’t turn into a friend and admirer in two years?
My favorite signs from London’s demo:
“God Save the Queen from the Fascist Tangerine!”
“F— Off Mango Mussolini”
and, accompanying the pic of our leaders holding handies:
“Now Wash Your Hands”
Who chose the seven countries ? How many people came into the US over the weekend ? How many were sent back ? Who was it that had a ban on Iranians entering the country in 1979-80 ?
How many people are detained in US airports on an average day ? How many people did President Obama deport out in one year ?
See: “Trump bans travelers from seven Muslim countries” Paul Begley – You Tube
Does anybody know what to do with her “Jewish ass” when it comes to Israel’s ban regarding the return of Palestinian natives and the Apartheid wall? Or is this protest of her’s “good for the Jews”?
Most Americans would be content with a return to the Ellis Island routine – testing each immigrant individually and at length. Only when this routine was abolished, the present conflict between immigration fanatics and anti-immigration fanatics erupted.
But please note that Trump is no anti-immigration fanatic: he pleaded for these bans as a means “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”, i.e. until they find a more sophisticated way to find out the bad ones and separate them from the good. But this is, as he rightly said, a matter for the Congress. His own possibilities are much more constrained.