MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Hundreds of people turned out for a candlelight vigil outside the Vermont Statehouse on Wednesday in support of refugees and immigrants and in opposition to President Donald Trump’s temporary suspension of immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Prompted by various speakers and organizers, the crowd chanted, “No ban, no wall,” ’’This is a revolution” and “Say it loud, say it clear, Muslims are welcome here.”
The vigil came a day after a similar rally in Burlington, Vermont, and two days after Republican Gov. Phil Scott announced the state would not work with federal authorities to carry out border security and immigration enforcement orders as suggested by recent executive orders signed by Trump. In a statement issued late Monday, Scott also said he would ask the Legislature to pass laws that would prohibit local officials from carrying out such actions.
“Migration is a human right,” Marita Canedo of the group Migrant Justice told the crowd Wednesday night, adding that “Trump cannot stop human rights.”
Faisal Gill, of Winooski, said he’s a Muslim and a U.S. Navy veteran.
“But when Donald Trump sees me all he sees is a terrorist,” he said. “Well, I say you’re the terrorist, you’re the one preaching terror, you’re the one preaching violence, you’re the one preaching hate,” he said of Trump.
He said the United States has always been a “beacon of hope,” welcoming immigrants no matter what their religion, race, or socioeconomic status.
“You come here, you live here, you work hard, you can raise a family. Donald Trump has changed all that. I’m here to tell him that I’m not going anywhere. Muslims are not going anywhere,” he said.
Community faith leaders also spoke, including Rabbi Amy Small, of the Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, who said generations of Americas have sought to make the country “a beacon of light to the world.”
“There is no place for discrimination based on skin color, religion, language or country of origin in America,” she said. “We are stronger when we come together. Certainly we understand the need to protect America but when we act out of fear, we betray our values and weaken our nation. We don’t shut our doors, we open our arms.”
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