Over 20,000 rally in Copley Square against Trump immigration ban
‘We are here to stand up, not just because we are muslims, but because it’s the right for everybody to practice whatever religions they want and live free in this country’
Over 20,000 protesters gathered in Copley Square Sunday afternoon to rally against Trump’s executive order approved Friday on suspending refugees from entering the United States.
Trump’s executive order bans all refugees and green card holders from seven predominantly Muslim countries—Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia—from entering the United States.
Rally against Trump in Copley Square, Boston, M.A. on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2017. (The Tab BU photo/ Shijie Ye)
According to a Facebook page, the rally was held by the Massachusetts branch of the Council on American Islamic Relations. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey also attended the protest.
Protesters were holding signs and chanting: “No hate! No fear! Refugees are welcomed here,” and “this is what democracy looks like.”
“We are here to stand up not just because we are muslims, but because it’s the right for everybody to practice whatever religions they want and live free in this country,” said Yehya Merhi, a 22-year-old student from Lebanon studying at UMass-Lowell. “We are aggravated because this country was built on immigrants and it’s built on the freedom of our religions and equality for everybody.”
Karis Cummings Bynoe, 54, holding her poster. (The Tab BU photo/ Shijie Ye)
“I’m here to [stand] against Trump and the whole concept that the administration starts to discriminate the groups of people in the society,” said Karis Cummings Bynoe, a 54-year-old doctor from Avon, Massachusetts. Karis said she is originally from the Island of Grenada in Caribbean Sea.
“I came to the United States in 1996 for my family, so I understand how difficult the visa process is,” she said. “For this administration, they don’t have any clues for what they are doing.”
Neil Desai, 23, holding his poster, which reads ‘collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment.’ (The Tab BU Photo/ Shijie Ye)
“I’m here to protest because the collective discrimination is a terrorist recruitment,” said Neil Desai, a 23-year-old graduate student from Providence, Rhode Island.
Yehya Merhi, 22, was holding national flags of the United States and Lebanon. (The Tab BU Photo/ Shijie Ye)
A man protesting. (The Tab BU photo/Shijie Ye)
As of yesterday morning, a federal judge of Boston has put a halt on the refugee and immigration ban, which allows legal immigrants from the seven impacted countries to enter the U.S. for the next seven days.
The featured image is of a young girl holding up her sign at the protest. (The Tab BU Photo/ Shijie Ye).