People in Dearborn braved the wind and cold today to protest a recent executive order by President Trump, and the deportation of people living in the United States illegally.
The executive order in question, issued March 6, blocks people in six mostly Muslim countries from traveling to the U.S. for 90 days.
As people gathered outside the American Moslem Society, some, like teenager Hareth Alhydary, said the newest executive order was no better than the first version of the order that caused people to be detained at airports across the country and confusion even amongst officials.
“(It’s) just a small group that does something wrong, you can’t just judge everyone around the place,” Alhydary said. “He’s trying to cut down the number of terrorists, I do agree with that. But that’s not the right way to do it.”
The White House website says the order stops the flow of people from specific countries into the U.S., making more resources available to federal agencies “for the screening and vetting of foreign nationals, to ensure that adequate standards are established to prevent infiltration by foreign terrorists.”
The protest was billed as an effort by Yemeni and Hispanic Americans to “Rally against Muslim Ban 2.0 and ICE raids on Latino communities.”
Protesters waved American flags and said the executive order and deportation of people living in the U.S. illegally contradicts American values that are the reason many decided to come and live in the U.S.
“This does not reflect the principles upon which this country is founded,” said event organizer Hanan Yahya. “This nation is founded on very strong principles that are not found anywhere else in this world, and we are very proud of that. We are very proud to be Americans. We are very proud to be here.”
The travel ban goes into effect Thursday, March 16, and bars travel to the U.S. from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
The current order says travel restrictions will be in place 90 days. Hamtramck resident Ali Essa attended the protest. He and his mother have lived in Michigan since moving from Yemen in 2006. Now he is considering traveling back to Yemen in order to visit his wife of less than a year, who will be unable to join him in the United States as long as the ban is in effect.
“(I’m) planning on going back home to see her,” Essa said. “And if (Trump) is still banning us, I might stay in Yemen. Yes, it is hard because there is war in Yemen.”
Detroit city councilwoman for the sixth district Raquel Castañeda-López was among the speakers whom addressed the crowd of roughly 60 people at the protest.
“Whether they say Muslim, whether they say immigrant, whether they say inner-city, we know they are talking about people of color,” Lopez said. “We have to make sure that we stand up every single time, not just for one executive order, not just because they’re doing ICE raids, but because we believe and recognize the humanity of one another.”
