PHOTO | SCOTT EISEN
Protesters hold up a sign that spells “#NoMuslimBan” during a rally against President Donald Trump’s immigration ban at Copley Square in Boston on Sunday.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
Item staff
An executive order issued by President Donald Trump banning refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim countries on Friday sparked immediate anger and confusion.
Protests were held at airports across the country on Saturday where immigrants from the targeted countries were being detained. Hours after hundreds of protesters flocked to Boston Logan International Airport, a judge issued an emergency temporary stay on Trump’s executive order, halting deportations.
About 12 hours after protesters cleared out of Logan Airport, hundreds of people headed to Copley Square in Boston on Sunday afternoon to continue voicing their opposition to Trump’s immigration orders. The president also recently officially ordered a Mexican border wall built.
Trump issued a statement via Facebook on Sunday, defending the ban.
“America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so by protecting our own citizens and border,” he said in a statement. “The seven countries named in the executive order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting.”
Locally, Natasha Soolkin, director of The New American Center, which serves the refugee and immigrant population in the Lynn area, said the executive order targeting seven Muslim countries has resulted in confusion and fear with that population. She said there are people frightened and unaware of what’s going on.
“They came from places where they experienced extreme violence and harassment, and are probably scared,” Soolkin said. “They deserve to understand this is not the place for that.”
People came to the country with the hope that the worst was over and that they were welcome, Soolkin added. Now it’s all in the air, she said.
“They suffered enough,” she said. “They went through so much to make it here. They deserve a welcoming feeling.”
Soolkin, an immigrant herself from the former Soviet Union, said she finds the new turn in policy a bit scary. She doesn’t mind a more thorough vetting process, on top of what she said is already a vigorous screening, as safety is paramount. But she’s unclear of what’s going to happen in the next 120 days. Are the people from Syria indefinitely being kept out, she questioned.
Going forward, Soolkin expects Monday will be a busy day at the center, which provides social support services, English classes and job search help and other resources for immigrants and refugees. She is preparing for a barrage of questions about the executive order from those who use the center.
Soolkin plans to contact the state attorney’s office to see what they’re doing in response, and is also thinking about getting an immigration lawyer to come in, to interpret what’s happening with the order.
Rudy Vale, 47, of Hingham, immigrated to the U.S. from Iran when she was 7 years old. She married an American man and has two children. Her family was protesting along with her in Copley Square. She said the protest was beautiful. What she found profound was that it wasn’t just Muslims gathered, saying “not here, not in this country. Enough is enough.”
“We all feel that our country’s been hijacked by a very small group of people that want to push an agenda,” Vale said. “It’s not us. It’s not what America stands for.”
Carissa Halston, 35, of East Boston, attended one of last week’s women’s marches. The march was great, she said, but she was unsure of its end goal. But, she said the case was different at the Logan Airport rally on Saturday, where people were being detained.
With Halston was Randolph Pfaff, 36, also from East Boston. Pfaff said that a federal judge stepping in and issuing the emergency stop on the travel ban was an important step.
Pfaff said having people come out and protest at the airport shows that the popular opinion is against the ban, and that it doesn’t represent the best of the country.
“Silence is tacit acknowledgement that this is OK,” Halston said.
Siri Benn, 25, of northern Virginia, was at the airport with a message written on a torn sheet of paper: “Do not criminalize Islam,” it said. “Do not make the USA a fascist nation.”
“The idea of people coming here and not being able to enter — the emotional toll on those people — it’s just not part of our country,” said Lucy Joan Sollogub, of Norwood.
Edith Sangueza, 28, of Cambridge, was in Copley Square Sunday. Her father is an immigrant, and she’s studying at Harvard University, hoping to practice immigration law.
“This is obscene,” she said. “His executive actions are unconstitutional.”
Today, it’s people from Muslim nations, she said. Tomorrow, it’s going to be Central Americans trying to get away from gang violence, or Mexicans seeking asylum here.
“I’m so horrified by Donald Trump’s ban that it’s hard to find words to really describe how horrified I am,” said Emily Lodish, of Boston. “I want to do anything to be a part of fighting for the rights of refugees to be welcome in my country. His actions are so opposed to what America is about and we all need to make ourselves heard. I’m ashamed, embarrassed in the eyes of the rest of the world.”
U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass) echoed those sentiments on Friday, issuing a statement condemning Trump’s executive order on refugees. He said Trump’s policies put the country’s troops at risk, and will help inspire attacks both at home and abroad.
“We are a nation of immigrants, and America is stronger when we welcome the refugees of our enemies,” Moulton said in a statement. “These policies do not put America first. I am ashamed that he is our president.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley