A 20-year-old Syrian refugee told his story to demonstrators holding signs that read “Refugees Welcome” and “No Muslim Ban,” at a rally in El Presidio Park, on Saturday morning last week.

Like many new arrivals, he’s anxious about policies and rhetoric that negatively affect refugees and asked that his name not be published.

His story is not uncommon. His family of five fled Syria’s civil war to Jordan. Once there, they could barely make enough money to get by. And although he wanted to go to school, at 16, he had to start working full-time.

The family was granted refugee status and arrived in the U.S. six months ago—all of them except his sister. She got married while in Jordan and so was not allowed to relocate with her family. They still hope she and her husband will be able to join them soon in the U.S.

The We the People Grassroots Community Rally was one of the many local actions in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order that temporarily bars travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees. The order bars Syrian refugees indefinitely and would cut the number of all refugees to be admitted this year from 110,000 to 50,000.

A Seattle federal judge, James Robart, appointed by President George W. Bush, temporarily reversed the ban on Feb. 4. The following day, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request from the Justice Department to restore the executive order. The block on the ban remained in place as of the Weekly’s press deadline.

The State Department directed the International Organization for Migration, which handles refugee travel to the U.S., to start booking flights on the morning of Feb. 6, according to Amy Fairchild Haer, associate director for the Migration and Refugee Services of Catholic Community Services–Tucson.

CCS is expecting a refugee woman, whose original flight had been canceled due to the order, and a refugee family this week.

Still unclear on the Trump administration’s next action, many refugees here and abroad are still uncertain of their futures.

City Council Member Steve Kozachik told the protestors at the rally that they were affirming the values on which the U.S. was founded.

“We do not slam the door in the face of refugees,” he said. “I have a message for the bat-shit crazy narcissist who is sitting in the Oval Office right now, barking out executive orders that would overturn the moral foundation on which we are framed: It will not stand.”

Another concern for refugees and their allies is a bill in the Arizona legislature which, if passed by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Doug Ducey, would force charities and refugee-resettlement organizations to cease refugee resettlement activities. SB 1468 would fine organizations that do not comply $1,000 a day per refugee.

Refugees currently receive 90 days of resettlement services, and they were still arriving hours before the ban went into effect, Fairchild Haer said.

Oula Gaber, long-time volunteer at Noor Women’s Association, a nonprofit founded by Muslim women that’s been helping refugees from all countries and faiths since 1995, said the nonprofit would continue to help refugees regardless of whether SB 1468 passes.

“They will continue doing it because, in the end, they want to help humanity” she said. “They want to help the people. It doesn’t have anything to do with politics.”

The charity started because women wanted to help people in need, said Lynn Hourani, another one of the group’s volunteers.

“Even if the organization stops, the women will never stop,” she said.

Local Catholic Diocese Bishop Gerald Kicanas and Rabbi Thomas Louchheim also spoke at the rally and condemned the president’s ban.

Kicanas and 75 other religious leaders signed a statement asking Trump and Arizona senators and representatives to denounce the ban on refugees and the border wall.

“We are a community that believes in the importance of welcoming the stranger,” he said. “Around the world, there are people struggling today to survive. They need our help. They need us to open our doors. Yes, we have to do proper vetting. Yes, we have to be diligent. But we cannot let fear run our lives.”

Foreigners who are from the seven countries in the travel ban have not killed any U.S. citizen in a terrorist attack on U.S. soil from 1975 through 2015, according to the Cato Institute.

Gatherings such as the El Presidio Park rally, considerably smaller than the estimated 700 to 800 that protested in front of the Federal Building on Jan. 30, are becoming a common occurrence under the new administration. But this may be another issue on which the country is almost evenly divided.

A recent poll of 1,002 adult Americans, done by CNN and ORC International, found that 53 percent opposed the ban and 47 percent were for it. But the study had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

And while many are calling Trump’s action a Muslim ban, his administration says its a pause on letting people in from countries that have been compromised by terrorism until they can establish an extreme-vetting process.

Refugees already go through an extensive vetting process, including biographic and biometric security screenings, medical screenings, forensic testing of their identifying documents and in-person interviews, Fairchild Haer of CCS said at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on the morning of Feb. 3.

The results of the screenings are then checked against the law enforcement and intelligent databases of the National Counterterrorism Center, Department of Defense, FBI, Department of State and Department of Homeland Security.

“If there is any doubt about who a refugee is, that refugee does not come to the United States,” Fairchild Haer said. “The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program saves the lives of refugees while at the same time ensuring the safety of America.”

As Fairchild Haer and other community leaders spoke in opposition to the ban, a small group of refugees stood to the side, waiting to tell their story.

Osam Yahya, age 22, stood out. A head taller than everyone else, with lanky arms hanging at his sides, he was soft-spoken and solemn as he spoke to the crowd.

After 10 years of enduring violence and poverty in a Kenyan refugee camp, he made it the U.S., less than two months ago. He came alone. His brother was set to arrive on Feb. 7. Now Yahya doesn’t know when or if he’ll see his brother again.

His voice caught as he told the crowd of around 40 that he was with his family in the refugee camp. They were all told they were going to the United States, but now he’s alone. Nonetheless, he’s grateful for the support

“I’m thankful to the United States of America,” he said. “Thank you for standing with refugees. I’m glad to be here.”

This article appears in Feb 9-15, 2017.

26 replies on “Give Me Your Huddled Masses”

  1. Make Tucson the national re-settlement and detention center for all refugees and illegal immigrants staged for deportation.

    If anyone knows how to exploit these people for the government dollars that follow them it’s Tucson liberals.

  2. The White House moved Wednesday to counter critics who claim President Trumps travel ban goes too far, circulating a list of terror cases involving suspects who came to the U.S. from the seven countries in question.

    The list, obtained by Fox News, gave 24 examples of refugees and other immigrants from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria and Libya who have been arrested on terror-related charges; most have been convicted.

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/08/white-house-fires-back-at-immigration-order-critics-with-list-terror-arrests.html

  3. One hundred Syrians entered the US last week. Vetted before entry by the UN. So much for our nation.Has your public education fooled you into accepting this?

  4. ISIS is dancing in the streets and calling it the Blessed Ban. Looks like you two have found your soul mates.

  5. So Peabo believes we should be following ISIS directives and counsel?

    Once again, a Tucson liberal siding with and supporting terrorists.

  8. What, Again.

    A Tucson dumbshit siding and supporting conservative RWNJ plutocrats.

  9. Matthew 5:22

    But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

    I would encourage all of us to stop the name calling and foul language. It diminishes our opinions. Give supporting facts as to the content and stop the personal attacks.

  11. But accusing someone of siding with terrorists when they are not is a-okay?

    Your opinions are already diminished. Your lack of understanding and your love of alternative facts proves that. Also, practice what you preach Father Rat. You personally attack people all the time with your superior and holier than thou attitude.

    Own up to it, you’ve earned it.

  12. It’s not an accusation, it’s a fact. He’s a megaphone for ISIS propaganda. Maybe I should re-print them for you ac/dc.

    “ISIS is dancing in the streets and calling it the Blessed Ban. “

  13. Says the man that needs to use my name as his name. Scroll back up and look at your language then look at mine. Holy is an unachievable goal. Please don’t consider this an attack. I’m trying to help you.

  14. So now an attitude is a personal attack? ac/dc – are you in favor of an intelligence cap so we can all be reduced to your level?

  16. Comment section of this site always gets invaded by fascist trolls now. Cant the weekly ban some people from commenting or approve comments before theyre posted?

  18. Palisades – what a great idea! In fact, so great it should be considered by the Tucson City Council. You know how they allow comments by the public. Well, they could pass an ordinance that only approved speakers could make comments. Why, Tucson could be a model for the rest of the country! A Safe Sanctuary City.

  19. Humpty Trumpty promised a wall
    Humpty Trumpty repeated his call
    But all of his lackeys and all his minions
    Couldn’t silence Liberty’s calling again.

  20. We have 330 million people. While we should certainly do what we can to help refugees, economic and political, admitting every poor or disadvantaged person in the world into the U.S. is not the solution to world problems. At current rates, we’ll have 1 billion people by the end of the century. We don’t have enough water even if we drink our toilet water.

  25. I’m with George Washington when he said about Muslims:
    “Would to heaven we had a navy to reform those enemies to mankind or crush them into non existence”
    1/16 of the Federal budget went to Islamic Muslim as blackmail to refrain from attacking US ships.

    And we NEVER took “Wretched Refuse” in this country. It’s when we started taking them that we experienced the down fall:
    The English colony of Massachusetts enacted the earliest American public charge (WELFARE) laws in 1645. The arrival in the colonies of undesirables spurred other colonies to enact similar laws. Many colonies protected themselves against public charges through such measures as mandatory reporting of ship passengers, immigrant screening and exclusion upon arrival of designated “undesirables,” and requiring bonds for potential public charges.

    Massachusetts in 1700 kept out the infirm and disabled who had no security against becoming public charges (Welfare People). The law required ship captains to post bonds for “lame, impotent, or infirm” passengers who were “incapable of maintaining themselves.” The bond requirement sought to prevent the new arrival from becoming reliant on public relief. Without a bond from the captain, the vessel had to return the person to his home country.
    LAW TODAY:
    Under Section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an individual seeking admission to the United States is inadmissible if the individual, “at the time of application for admission, is likely at ANY time to become a public charge (Welfare Recipient).”

  26. PEW Poll: Upwards of 287 million ISIS supporters in just 11 countries including 1/3 of Syria Refugees
    http://pamelageller.com/2015/11/pew-poll-b…

    Survey of Muslims, a majority (51%) agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to shariah. More than half (51%) of U.S. Muslims polled also believe either that they should have the choice of American or shariah courts, or that they should have their own tribunals to apply shariah. Only 39% of those polled said that Muslims in the U.S. should be subject to American courts.
    http://thepoliticalinsider.com/youll-be-sh…

    The judges need a refresher course in the LAW:
    8 U.S. Code 1182 – Inadmissible aliens

    Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any
    class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the
    interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such
    period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or
    any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the
    entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.

    It is IMMORAL to foist all of the Huddled Masses onto the 40% of the US workers left who generate more revenue than they consume in programs and services.

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