Indianapolis rally opposes federal travel ban and immigration policies

People streamed into a grassy area outside the Indianapolis International Airport’s arrival pickup zone Monday evening. They held signs opposing the travel ban and chanted, “No hate, no fear. Immigrants are welcome here.”

The rally was a response to the travel ban President Donald Trump imposed for 12 countries that went into effect that morning. Those countries include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran, Chad and Haiti. Additional countries such as Cuba and Venezuela now have heightened restrictions.

Cole Varga, CEO of Exodus Refugee and Immigration, said the ban focus on visa overstays is misleading.

“Many immigrants overstay their visas because they face a broken U.S. immigration system and because it is not safe to go home,” he said.

Exodus Refugee Immigration, ACLU of Indiana, the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network and several other organizations organized the rally.

Some in attendance said it felt like déjà vu. Many participated in a similar rally in 2017, when President Donald Trump imposed a travel ban on several majority-Muslim countries.

“Now we’re here again, facing another travel ban from the Trump administration that targets our communities and insults our values,” said Maliha Zafar, the executive director of the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network.

She said both bans incited fear in immigrant communities, but she said there is more fear now, in this second Trump administration.

“There’s a different vibe now, and it’s scary,” Zafar said. “People were scared then, we’re scared now. And really what? It’s just discriminatory this band, it’s unnecessary. It doesn’t keep our communities safe.”

Additional Trump administration policies that have impacted immigrant communities include the termination of refugee resettlement programs, increased detainments, and the cancellation of some humanitarian paroles and temporary protected statuses.

For attendees like Indianapolis resident Malkah Bird, the protest is a way to push back against all of those federal actions.

“This is just one of the ways that we can come out and support and show that we strongly disagree with this, that we don’t believe in banning anybody,” Bird said.

Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05.