Opposition groups look to leverage anger
Organizers’ goal is ‘mass resistance’
The protests that swept the nation in answer to President Trump’s executive order on Muslim travel have encouraged advocacy groups to press their case on other issues.
Trump’s executive order, signed Friday, suspended entry of refugees to the U.S. for 120 days, halts admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely and bars entry for three months to residents from the predominantly Muslim countries of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The edict prompted scores of weekend rallies across the nation.
A few events even lingered into the workweek: More than 100 people gathered in Staunton, Va., for a peaceful protest. Dozens rallied at the Springfield office of Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to protest Blunt’s support of the order.
MoveOn.org, which champions a long list of liberal issues, said Monday that it was encouraged by America’s “gorgeous showing of our resilience, strength and solidarity” during the protests. “Our overarching goal is clear: We must help grow a mass, accessible opposition — or resistance — movement to challenge Trump’s agenda ... and prepare to retake power in the 2017, 2018 and 2020 elections,” the group said in a statement on its website.
Trump was unyielding Monday in his position that his immigration order was for the good of the country. “There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country,” he tweeted.
Trump’s position is a concern to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR has seen a “big spike” in donations, interest and feedback since the executive order was announced, spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said Monday.
“Millions of Americans are very concerned about the direction he is taking our country,” CAIR executive director Nihad Awad said.
On Tuesday, the San Diego CAIR chapter will unveil a “Forum on Religious Freedom.” The objective is to create a broad coalition dedicated to challenging Islamophobia and the “systemic attempt to marginalize the American Muslim community,” the group says.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which led the legal charge against Trump’s immigration order, said Sunday that it had received more than 350,000 online donations totaling more than $24 million over the weekend. Donations were still rolling in Monday. The non-profit organization’s membership has ballooned to more than 1 million, doubling since the election, executive director Anthony Romero says: “This is merely the first skirmish in a long battle to vigorously defend the Bill of Rights from the authoritarian designs of the Trump administration.”