PD on North Bay residents resisting Trump

I want to appreciate the Press Democrat for how it is covering the resistance and defiance by people living here and beyond. Following is an article from today's edition.

ENGAGED » Why some North Bay residents joined airport protests, Jan. 31, 2017 



By JULIE JOHNSON THE PRESS DEMOCRAT



Sonoma County criminal defense attorney Kristine Burk answered a call for lawyers to post themselves at Oakland International Airport. She spent the day working with legislative staff members, other lawyers and activists trying to determine if anyone had been detained there because of the order.



Sonoma State University lecturer Sakina Bryant set aside the class prep she’d planned to do Sunday and instead drove to San Francisco International Airport to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order barring refugees and restricting immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.



Santa Rosa acupuncturist Josh Margolis wrote “Nobody is Illegal” on a sign before hitting the highway to spend hours 
Sunday chanting about democracy and cheering for each person who passed through customs.
“We have a moral imperative to band together when we’re facing injustice,” Bryant said.

They are examples of people from Sonoma County galvanized to oppose the Trump administration and demonstrate public support for people affected by the president’s actions.

A week into his admin-istration, Trump signed an executive order Friday permanently barring Syrian refugees from entering the United States and suspending entry for all other refugees for 120 days. The order also bars entry for 90 days for people from seven majority- Muslim countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The move stranded travelers around the world and galvanized thousands of people who opposed his restrictions and who rallied at airports from coast to coast.

“I strongly believe in reasonable border control versus categorically blocking people and by extension barring people by religious orientation,” Margolis said. “That’s not who we are as a country.”

The White House defended the order as protecting the nation from terrorism.

By Monday, the Trump administration had backed away from a part of the order pertaining to green card holders. Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates ordered the U.S. Justice Department not to defend Trump’s immigration order in court. By the end of the day, Yates had been fired and Dana J. Boente named Acting Attorney General.

U.S. Rep Mike Thompson , D-St. Helena, called Trump’s executive order “anti-American” and, with more than 160 other House Democrats, signed his name to a bill to overturn it.

“Barring refugees or members of any religion runs counter to our country’s principles, values, and history,” Thompson said in a statement. “I stand in strong opposition, and will do everything in my power to see they are reversed.”

Burk said she joined a Facebook group called Lawyers for Good Government after the November presidential election. She said the group has grown into a national network and was among several organizations sending lawyers to airports across the country over the weekend.

At Oakland airport, a network of people worked throughout the day to determine if anyone had been detained, Burk said.

Staff from the office of Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, got airline manifests for incoming flights and examined the list for people more likely to be detained at customs, Burk said. Lawyers and others spoke with arriving passengers and talked with people waiting for arriving travelers.

They also tried to get customs officials to be upfront about whether anyone had been detained. Ultimately, they don’t believe anyone had been detained at Oakland, which doesn’t receive direct international flights.

“All of the organizations brought their knowledge to bear,” said Burk, whose last day as a public defender was Monday, before she began a private practice. “It was a well-orchestrated situation.”

San Francisco airport officials said five people were detained over the weekend because of the executive order and all were released by Sunday afternoon.

Margolis, 40, said he and his partner, Lily Mazzarella, were standing on chairs and cheering when one man walked out after being held for hours. He said people filled the arrivals area, lined shut-down escalators and engaged in upbeat chants led by leaders with megaphones.

“I haven’t been to a protest for about 15 or 20 years,” Margolis said. “I feel very urgent about it. I feel a lot of urgency around protecting our rights in the wake of the new administration. The plurality that makes being American great is really under attack.”

So disturbed and frustrated was Bryant, the 41-year-old Rohnert Park resident got into her car and drove solo down to SFO, paying $32 for a shortterm parking spot.

Bryant, who teaches critical thinking and other courses in the English and philosophy departments, said she hadn’t been involved in local protests in about 10 years — but that changed Sunday.

“It was the most powerful protest I’ve ever attended in my life because of the stakes, because it wasn’t a symbolic protest,” Bryant said.

“It wasn’t that people wanted to express themselves — we wanted a particular concrete action before we left the room.”

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-5215220 or [email protected]. On Twitter @jjpressdem.