Hundreds turned out in frigid temperatures Monday night for a rally outside Cincinnati City Hall to support immigrants and refugees. That rally came in the wake of President Donald Trump’s 90-day ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations and his 120-day freeze on refugee resettlement.
The rally was organized by local immigrant and refugee advocates like Joe Sack, who helps run Refute and Rally, an organization that seeks to combat fear of Muslims and immigrants.
“It’s important that we stay here today to be a testament and to hold our elected officials accountable,” Sack told the crowd.
Chanting “no ban, no wall” and “we shall not surrender,” the group overflowed the wide sidewalk in front of City Hall and spilled into Plum Street.
Masoud Ghaffari, a U.S. citizen who came here from Iran years ago for graduate school, stood in the crowd. His young daughter sat on his shoulders waving an American flag.
“I’m here to defend American values,” he said. “Where I come from, these values don’t exist. Treating others with respect. Respect for the law. Not having one so-called president deny peoples’ legal rights with the stroke of a pen. That’s what I’m here for.”
For a portion of the rally, a lone Trump supporter stood on the margins of the crowd, shouting “Trump’s America is the real America” and holding a sign that read “diversity means hunting down the last white person.” After several tense interactions with the crowd, he left the rally.
During the two-hour event, immigrants, refugees, advocates and elected officials, including Mayor John Cranley and Cincinnati City Council members Wendell Young, Yvette Simpson and Chris Seelbach, gave remarks about diversity and welcoming immigrants as core American values.
“You are the dream of the immigrant grandparents,” said Imam Ismaeel Chartier of Clifton Mosque. “Do not let that dream die. Do not let that dream be taken by a tangerine man who does not love anything but his own self. We are the dream that is America.”
Elected officials urged unity in the face of Trump’s ban.
“My ancestors came over from Africa,” Simpson said. “They crossed the River Jordan, which is the Ohio River, to escape slavery. We may have come over on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
The rally came just hours after Cranley officially announced that Cincinnati was declaring itself a sanctuary city. That declaration came as some Cincinnati City Council members, including Young, worked on ordinances that would have solidified the city’s status as such.
Seelbach said he celebrated the mayor’s announcement, but also told the crowd that “the status quo is not good enough” and called for further legislation like Young’s ordinance. That legislation would solidify the city’s commitment to shelter immigrants and refugees. Cranley also praised Young’s legislation and said more work was needed.
One of the big sticking points to Cincinnati’s sanctuary efforts might be Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil’s office, which has confirmed it will continue working with federal immigration enforcement efforts even though the Cincinnati Police Department will not. Neil, a Democrat, appeared at a Trump campaign rally in March last year.
“Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do,” Sack said, encouraging protesters to call Neil and make their opinions known. “We have to keep that pressure up until everyone sees that our cause is just and righteous cause. I encourage all of you to call the Hamilton County Sheriff and let him know where you stand.”
