Thousands Rally in New York to Protest Trump's Orders on Immigration

Rasa - Thousands of people gathered in Washington Square Park in New York to protest US President Trump’s executive actions on immigration.

News ID: 426843

Date: 26 January 2017 - 23:44

RNA - “This is what America looks like,” the mass of people chanted, many waving signs encouraging unity and inclusiveness, Daily News reported.

The last minute political rally was organized by the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and featured several activists and politicians who promised New York will remain a haven for immigrants.

“I’m here to say I add my voice to the resistance,” City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said.

Trump on Wednesday began moving toward fulfilling his campaign promises to erect a wall along the US-Mexico border and restrict people from Muslim majority countries from entering the US

He also vowed to cut federal funds to “sanctuary cities” such as New York that don’t cooperate with his mandates.

Kavita Pawria-Sanchez, the assistant commissioner of the mayor’s office of immigrant affairs said Mayor de Blasio stood with the protesters.

“We are so proud to stand beside you in this fight for over 3 million immigrant New Yorkers. We know that New York is the city that has perhaps the largest Muslim population in the entire country,” she said. “What happened today was an absolute disgrace to our values as a city, community and country.”

Public Advocate Letitia James likened the resistance to Trump to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.

“This is the struggle of all Americans,” she said. “We’ve got to join hands and protect the marginalized community and vulnerable communities — just as we protected African-Americans in the ’60s, we've got to protect those who they're coming after.

“We’ve got to stand up to an administration that is too male, too pale and too stale.”

A draft of an executive order that Trump is expected to sign in the coming days would block the entry of refugees from war-torn Syria and suspend the entry of any immigrants from Muslim-majority Middle Eastern and African countries Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Yemen while permanent rules are studied, according to Reuters.

Those in Washington Square Park denounced Trump’s plans as Islamophobic and un-American.

“We know and we feel the plight of those that are most vulnerable, and we are here today to let everyone know that our solidarity, our strength, lies in our diversity, and our mission is to make sure that everyone receives justice and that this is truly an indivisible nation,” said Afaf Nasher, the executive director of CAIR New York.

The crowd chanted the word “resist” in unison as several protesters opposed to the pipeline orders signed a day earlier joined the sea of anti-Trump sentiment.

Opponents in New York said Trump’s actions threaten the very fabric of the nation — and fly in the face of what makes commander-in-chief’s own hometown such a great city.

“We are not the city of Donald Trump’s Wall Street cabinet,” said Albert Cahn, the director of strategic litigation for CAIR-NY. “We are the city of diversity and faith, the city of love and compassion — the city that shows up, and shows the world that this city, this great city, will always remain a beacon of light.”

Roughly 200 protesters took the rally on the road and marched uptown toward Columbus Circle.

“I only saw when they were on the ground,” said Dace McNally, 21, from Queens. “We were trying to cross this crosswalk and there were 20 people but they just singled these people out and threw them on the ground”

The NYPD arrested six people for disrderly conduct on 54th St. as the protester made their way through midtown, police said.

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