Loading ...Town hall meeting on immigration provides free legal advice for concerned residents
By By Heather Khalifa
MLive
A room full of concerned Genesee County residents packed into the Genesee Academy Library at the Flint Islamic Center for a town hall session to learn their rights under the current presidential administration and its recent executive orders targeting immigration.
The meeting was hosted by the center in conjunction with the Arab American Heritage Council and the American Civil Liberties Union.
It began with PowerPoints prepared by Alexandra Nassar of the Heritage Council, Muna Jondy of the Islamic Center and Alec Gibbs of the ACLU. The lecturers touched upon everything from what happens if you are pulled off a flight by a pilot to how to file a complaint afterwards. They informed the residents of their rights as individuals, and the rights of law enforcement and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
The event was in response to three of President Donald Trump’s executive orders on enhancing public safety, building a wall along the Mexican border, and foreign terrorist entry.
While the travel ban that suspended people coming into the U.S. from seven Muslim majority countries (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan), along with refugee arrivals suspended for 120 days (Syrian refugees suspended indefinitely) was suspended by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a new executive order is expected to be released this week.
“We know there is another variation of this coming down the pipeline,” Jondy said.
Among changes to the original order is taking out wording that placed preference for Christian refugees due to the unconstitutionality of it, which was cited by the court of appeals.
The presentations were followed by questions from the audience, who asked questions like what happens if the FBI shows up at your door to whether or not women have to take off their hijab if asked by a government official.
Despite the fear and uncertainty, the speakers urged community members to put things into perspective and to remember their strength in numbers.
“We’re not the worst off, we have many friends and allies,” Jondy said.
“I’m an Orthodox Christian, and I’m here because it’s not right,’ said Nassar, echoing Jondy’s statement on the importance of unity.
