Louisville pro-immigration rally draws 5,000
In front of overflowing and cheering crowds that packed by the thousands into the Muhammad Ali Center amphitheater Monday night, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer on Monday blasted President Donald Trump's temporary ban on refugees and immigrants from seven nations.
"Last week's travel ban on anyone entering the United States from any one of seven Muslim-majority countries runs counter to the America we know and love," he said, urging those gathered to protest Trump's actions by writing lawmakers and supporting refugee agencies. "This is a pivotal moment. A decision point, where we will determine the course of our country."
With Trump's immigration crackdown including threats to cut funding to so-called sanctuary cities, which refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, Fischer reiterated that Louisville Metro Police do not arrest people for immigration violations – which drew cheers. But he didn't say Louisville would declare itself such a city, as Cincinnati did on Monday.
The "Rally for American Values" gathering, which officials roughly estimated drew 5,000 or more and featured songs and rousing speeches from civic and religious leaders, came amid a wave of protests across the country against Trump's temporary ban on refugees and immigrants from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Trump also ordered indefinite suspension of Syrian refugees and announced plans to slash the U.S. refugee program.
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The Rev. Steve Henriksen, board chair of Catholic Charities of Louisville, told the crowd that Trump's denial that his moves amounted to a Muslim ban was wrong. "If it walks like a duck," he said, "... It's a duck, my friends."
With lawsuits, demonstrations at airports and political battles erupting across the U.S. a little more than a week after Trump's inauguration, the Louisville rally was meant to support for immigrants who Fischer said were critical to the city's culture and economy.
In the crowd, families raised children on their shoulders and others held signs reading "Sanctuary for all" and "Huddled masses, welcome here." One immigration lawyer passed out cards offering free legal services to refugees impacted by Trump's order. Local businesswoman Elizabeth Kizito, who is from Uganda, sold baskets of cookies. People wrote welcoming messages on post-it notes near the entrance.
Kelly Wilson came to the rally with her children in tow, brandishing a 3-foot tall sign that read, “The first immigrants arrived in 1492.” She said it was important to her that her children be active participants in history. Wilson said her main reason for attending the rally was simple: Silence is complicity.
“If we don’t, who will?” she said.
Other attendees came to pay homage to their immigrant ancestors. Chris Bischoff, born and raised in Louisville, is a fifth-generation descendant of German and Irish refugees to Kentucky. Bischoff said his great-great-grandfather was among the scores of people attacked on Bloody Monday, and he drew a parallel between the persecution of his Catholic ancestors and current attitudes towards Muslims.
“Everyone had to come from somewhere if you go back far enough,” Bischoff said. “Everyone has a right to stand up for what they believe in.”
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Speakers included Donald Lassere, president of the Muhammad Ali Center, who said Ali would be proud. Others included Rabbi Laura Metzger; Haleh Karimi, executive director, Interfaith Paths of Peace; Shaky Palacios, an immigrant from Mexico; David Yates, Metro Council president. In the crowd were former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Matthew Barzun, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes and refugee, civil rights and immigrant leaders.
Farhan Abdi, a leader in the local Somali community hit hard by Trump's orders, said he was heartened by the turnout after a difficult and dismaying week. "This is, like, wow," he said.
A day earlier, about 100 demonstrators including Syrian refugees gathered at Louisville's airport to protest the bans. On Saturday, marchers walked to Kentucky Refugee Ministries to show support. At Monday's rally, a city spokesperson said the amphitheater holds about 3,800 people, and crowds had spilled inside, down the stairs and out into adjacent streets, so the crowd figure may have reached 5,000 to 6,000.
Fischer told rally-goers that Louisville owes most of it's growth to foreign-born residents from places like Mexico and Cuba. He said with 30,000 open jobs in the city, such residents were critical. And he praised the city's embrace of refugees.
Since 2011 alone, Kentucky has resettled about 4,028 refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Iran and Syria, according to the Kentucky Office for Refugees. Among all refugees, Kentucky last year took in more than double the national average of refugees per 100,000 residents. Sizable numbers of Iraqis and Somalis live in the area, and roughly 50,345 residents of the city were born outside the U.S., which amounts to about 7 percent of its overall population.
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Jefferson County Republican Party Chairman Jim Stansbury, however, said Monday he supported Trump's moves "to curtail Syrian refugee resettlement and place a temporary ban on immigration from countries identified as hotbeds of terrorism" and added, "our immigration laws must be enforced."
In the overflowing streets outside the rally, a small group of counter-protesters wearing military fatigues were shouted down by rally attendees chanting "No hate, no fear" following a brief scuffle that was broken up by police.
In recent days, Trump has stood by his immigration actions. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday additional vetting is a good idea, but that he "opposed to a religious test."
At the rally, Fischer acknowledged there were "serious threats to our country. We know them. ISIS, Al Queda and other groups. And we must continue our offensive against those who want to kill us. But not their victims, most of whom are Muslims themselves. The fact that they share a religion or nationality does not justify a shared indictment," he said.
"As a white Christian man, an American man, I certainly hope people don't look at me and assume there was no meaningful difference between me and people like Timothy McVeigh, Dylann Roof or David Duke," Fischer said. "We owe that same respect to our Muslim neighbors."
Reporter Danielle Lerner contributed to this report. Chris Kenning can be reached at (502) 582-4697 or ckenning@courier-journal.com