Video

Protesters on Why They Defend Refugees

“They pose way less of a threat than Trump does. And they also pay way more taxes.”

President Donald Trump’s war against Muslims and immigrants has begun. The president is expected to sign an executive order suspending visas from six Muslim-majority countries and temporarily halt the U.S. refugee program. The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations organized an emergency rally, and within hours, Washington Square Park in Manhattan was filled with shellshocked protesters supporting immigrants.

We spoke to native New Yorkers, descendants of Holocaust survivors, and recent immigrants whose American lives would not be possible under the proposed ban. In the video above, they explain why they defend refugees.