San Francisco organizations gathered at City Hall Monday, pushing back President Trump’s travel ban, calling it illegal and discriminatory.
President Trump’s new order bans most travelers from a dozen, mostly Muslim countries, into the U.S. and adds heightened scrutiny on travelers from seven other countries.
“Even though I’m a U.S. citizen, I can go and come back, but Togo is now on the map as a country that is a problem and that hurts,” said Tchaa Sogoyou.
He’s originally from the Togolese Republic — one of the countries on that list.
“It’s a very, very sad situation, not just for Togo but for a lot of different countries,” he said. “You have a lot of innocent people and it is very sad that they put everyone in the same basket.”
During his first term, President Trump instituted a similar ban, sparking confusion and court challenges.
But on Monday, SFO officials noted no impacts on airport operations from the new restrictions.
Travelers and locals expressed mixed opinions.
“Even if people say they are immigrants, we still have liberties in this country with the 14th Amendment. I firmly believe people should have the right regardless if you are an immigrant, we are all immigrants,” said Bay Area resident Scott Demai.
“My opinion, he is doing the right thing. We have to be careful who is coming in and where they are coming from,” said Max Flores of San Francisco.
But immigrants rights organizations disagree, and are calling the ban illegal and racist-pointing out that the majority of the restrictions affect Middle Eastern and African countries.
Organizations opposing the Trump administration’s travel ban and recent immigration enforcement held a rally Monday, where they vowed to resist and protect immigrant communities.
Elected leaders are promising to do the same.
“Donald Trump, you are a coward,” said Supervisor Bilal Mahmood. “You are a wanna be king anchored in hatred and if you are thinking about targeting a single one of my residents in District 5, the families, the children, the seniors, you are going to have to come through me first.”
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
