Chanting “No ban, no wall” and carrying signs that quoted the Statue of Liberty, more than 100 demonstrators braved chilly temperatures Sunday to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order barring admission of refugees and migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.
The peaceful but passionate gathering near the entrance to Charlotte Douglas International Airport echoed similar Sunday protests near other airports around the country and followed the arrest Saturday night of six demonstrators inside the Charlotte airport.
Trump has said the executive order is not a ban on Muslims, but many of Sunday’s protesters were not buying his argument, casting the order as an unconstitutional attack on a single religion.
“It’s against the Constitution and it’s against Muslims,” said Elham Rabiei, a immigration attorney from Charlotte who was born in Iran – one of the seven countries cited in Trump’s order.
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Since Trump signed the order, Rabiei said she’s gotten calls from clients now stuck overseas – including a man in Iran who can’t get back to his family in the United States.
Protester George Bohmfalk, a retired neurosurgeon, said he was not persuaded by the new president’s claim that the executive order was designed to protect Americans from terrorists who might try to blend in with U.S.-bound refugees.
“This is a symbolic act to appease his (political) base,” said Bohmfalk, who called the executive order “unfair, ineffective, pointless and misdirected.”
Many drivers zooming by the protesters signaled their solidarity by tooting their horns. Others weren’t supportive, with one rolling down his window and shouting “You’re so stupid” to the crowd.
Added Bohmfalk, who was the first protester to show up Sunday: “We’ve seen a lot of thumbs up (from drivers) and a lot of middle fingers up. But probably more of the former.”
The country’s deep division – over Trump, immigration and a score of other issues – was also evident from the very different reactions to the Republican president’s executive order by Charlotte’s two members of Congress.
U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat, joined the protesters Sunday and charged that Trump’s “horrible order” was “very insensitive to people,” went against American values and had sparked chaos at airports around the nation.
“We are a welcoming country. That’s what we should be showing, not … all the hatred and discrimination because of their religion and where they live,” she said. “(Refugees) are fleeing for safety … and these are people who have already gone through the vetting process and (had) been authorized to come.”
By contrast, U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger, a Republican whose district includes parts of Charlotte, appeared to defend Trump’s order in a statement released Sunday.
“While we should be responsive to those who are persecuted for their faith or impacted by war, we need a thorough vetting of all refugees,” said Pittenger, who chairs the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare.
He pointed to a law he co-sponsored that requires the FBI, CIA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security “to be engaged in the refugee vetting process to prevent access by infiltrated terrorists.”
Sunday’s protest in Charlotte drew a diverse group that included Christian clergy and Muslim activists, young and old, immigrants and those American-born.
The Rev. Raymond Johnson, an associate pastor at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Marion, S.C., drove 120 miles to join the demonstrators.
“The president – what he’s doing is dividing the country,” Johnson said. “I think there’s a racist undertone to what he’s saying against Muslim countries.”
The Rev. Justin Martin of Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church said he came to honor what the Bible and most world religions say about immigrants.
“They say we should welcome the stranger,” said Martin, who was accompanied by his wife, Jessica, and their three children – including daughter Katie, who is 6 months old and was attending her third protest in a week. The family also participated in the Women’s March and joined other protesters at the office of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
Karan Meurer, a stay-at-home mom in Fort Mill, carried a sign Sunday that quoted the Statue of Liberty’s call to send immigrants “yearning to breathe free.”
“We’re all refugees. We’ve all come from different places in this country. And it’s not right to turn our backs on (current refugees) who need our help,” said Meurer, who called Trump “dictator-in-chief.”
One protester held a sign that rewrote Trump’s famous slogan. It read: “I Support the First Amendment. That’s what made America great.”
Another read: “Refugees – Muslim or otherwise – We love you.”
That support for Islam – an often maligned religion in the United States – heartened Amir Behdani, 38, who was born in Iran but grew up in Charlotte.
“It’s very hopeful to see people here from all different cultures and backgrounds standing up for Muslims,” said Behdani, who works in real estate. “Trump’s order is a blessing in disguise: It has awakened people.”
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