Day 5 of Resistance to Trump’s Executive Orders: Press Conference and Protest Today at Chicago’s Department of Homeland Security
From: Arab American Action Network
Wednesday, February 1st #NoMuslimBan #Not1More #RealSanctuary
Mexican Consulate confirms that Mexican travelers are also being held for more stringent questioning at customs.
CHICAGO, IL – This past weekend, thousands of members of Chicago’s immigrant communities and their supporters descended on O’Hare airport for two consecutive nights, calling for the release of Arabs, Africans, and/or Muslims who were being detained at the airport in response to Donald Trump’s executive order on Friday. That order effectively bans ALL refugees, plus citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Sudan (including legal residents of the United States with green cards), from entering the country. The orders were enacted while many refugee families were in transit to the United States.
A Press conference and protest in response to the Trump Administration’s executive orders signed last week that threatens federal funding to sanctuary cities; and effectively bans all refugees, plus citizens of seven Arab, African, or Muslim countries, from entering the U.S., will be held outside the Department of Homeland Security, 525 W. Van Buren Street, downtown Chicago, at 4:30 p.m.
FACEBOOK EVENT: facebook.com/events/1871082143124131
Federal judges in Brooklyn and other districts ruled for a stay of the executive order, rejecting the policy as unconstitutional, but Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has ignored the federal injunction and continues to detain.
Channel 5 News in Chicago has reported that the individuals in secondary detention are being asked a series of questions related to their faith and political beliefs, including “Do you hate the United States?” “What do you think about Trump?” and “Where is the mosque in which you pray?” In addition, there are reports confirmed by the Mexican Consulate that non-U.S. citizen Mexican travelers are also facing increased scrutiny and questioning.
On Wednesday, February 1st, outside the offices of the Department of Homeland Security in Chicago, thousands again will take to the streets calling on Trump to rescind his executive order, for the release of all detainees in Chicago and across the country, for the city to remove the deportation and other carve outs from its Welcoming City ordinance, for an end to the criminalization of Black and other people of color, and for an end to all detentions and deportations.
Conveners and supporters: Arab American Action Network, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago, Organized Communities Against Deportations, United African Organization, Korean American Resource and Cultural Center, PASO-West Suburban Action Project, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, National Immigrant Justice Center, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, Chicago Teachers Union, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Arab American Family Services, Syrian Action Network, Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Black Lives Matter-Chicago, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, United Working Families, Fight for 15-Chicago, elected and appointed officials, and many other advocacy, immigrant rights, and legal groups.
For more information, contact: Hatem Abudayyeh @ 773 301-4108
