Last night the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) organized a peaceful protest in Washington Square Park in New York to take a firm stand for refugees, immigrants and Muslims in the United States. According to mic, “city officials, community organizers, activists, students and local residents united to stand against President Donald Trump’s executive orders to build a border wall between the United States and Mexico, to cut funding to ‘sanctuary cities’ and to potentially ban refugees from entering the country and suspend visas for immigrants and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries.”
At the protest was an Iranian woman named Banu, a journalist who immigrated to the U.S. in 2009, after the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Banu is in the U.S. under an Artist Visa that is about to expire. She tells mic that as someone who has lived under a repressive regime, Trump’s expected executive order is like “a big slap on the face.” “I came to the U.S. because I really love the people and I love this country,” Banu said. “I really thought this country was based on liberty, justice and equality. But now, I’m at a loss.”
