Protest Against Immigration Ban Planned for Tuesday

Above: photo from a support rally outside the East Lansing Islamic Center last November.

“No Ban, No Wall, Spartans for Sanctuary and Solidarity” is the theme for a rally being organized on the Michigan State University campus tomorrow (Tuesday, January 31) at 6 p.m. The protest will be held at the Rock (near the MSU Auditorium) and both the campus and community have been invited by the organizers.

The rally is planned in response to President Donald Trump's recent executive order on Muslim immigrants and refugees, which ends visa-issuing to migrants or visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—all predominantly Muslim countries—and suspends the U.S. refugee resettlement program for at least 120 days and bars refugees from the United States.

The MSU Muslim Students' Association is taking the lead on organizing this event and say that more details will be available today.

On Sunday afternoon, the group released a statement on the Facebook event page stating, “The objective of the rally will be to learn how American citizens can help green card and visa holders, to understand the impact on international students, to give legal understanding to protect against the measures, and to make those who are impacted feel less anxious knowing that there is support. Please encourage all your friends to come. This will be a peaceful, non-partisan protest with calls to action.”

ELi reported yesterday on the local Islamic community’s reactions to these orders. Since our report, a statement was issued by MSU's President Lou Anna K. Simon.

Responses to the rally’s plan suggest many in the MSU and East Lansing communities remain concerned. The “No Ban, No Wall rally” Facebook page indicates over 500 people are “interested” in the event and over 350 plan to attend.

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