Vigil Supporting Muslims After Trump's Ban Draws Hundreds To Central Austin Church

AUSTIN, TX — It was standing room only at the First English Lutheran Church Monday evening as hundreds of people attended a vigil supporting refugees in light of the Trump administration's Muslim travel ban implemented by executive order.

Vigil organizers have denounced Donald Trump's executive order as antithetical to the tenets of their faith. Drawing some 400 participants, the vigil was staged inside the the church located at 3001 Whitis Ave. at 6 p.m. The event was organized by Refugee Council USA.

People lined up outside the house of worship as it quickly filled up with members of the community. At side entrances, every nook and cranny of each hallway was packed with people straining to hear what religious leaders and refugee advocates had to say in addressing those inside.

Among the groups in attendance at the interfaith vigil were Amaanah Refuge Services, Ascension Lutheran Church, Caritas of Austin, GirlFoward, Interfaith Action of Central Texas, Refugee Services of Texas and Texas Here to Stay Coalition.

One woman scurried along the sidewalk, sign in hand that quoted the book of Exodus: "You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt."

As the woman rushed to the church, she explained how that Biblical passage alone guided her in deciding to show up at the vigil. "We say this every Passover. We have to recite it. It's kind of drilled into us," she added as she crossed the street to reach her destination.

Inside the packed church, the gathering heard from a series of speakers explaining how Trump's ban on Muslim people to the U.S. is anathema to the tactics of Christianity.

"What's the Golden Rule?" one speaker with Syrian American Refugee Aid asked the crowd. "Exactly!" he responded as people replied. "That's what we need to tell President Trump. We have to say this is not right."

The spontaneous protests across the country over the travel ban have been gratifying to watch, he said: "America and the American people are showing what they are, and they are great."

The next speaker with Refugee Services of Texas, mirrored similar sentiments.

"Refugees are a blessing to our community and state," he said. "They are not a burden. They are not dangerous, never have been and aren't today. These are people who have done nothing wrong but runaway from war."

Like the speaker before him, he engaged the crowd: "Does this sound like something your America would do?" he asked of Trump's unilateral move prohibiting Muslims from entering the country, leaving many stranded and unable to reach their families. "Does this sound like something your religion would do?"

At each question posed, the throngs answered with a resounding "No!" He than asked them: "Does this make you angry?" "Yes!" came the reply, prompting the speaker to urge the crowd to get involved to voice their opposition to the executive order.

For Teresa Cué, the idea of attending the vigil resonated powerfully, making her own attendance a foregone conclusion. She recalled her family's journey into the U.S. from Cuba in 1960 when she was six years old, those early memories prompting her to become emotional as she recalled them.

"My parents lost everything," she recalled of her family's fleeing Fidel Castro's oppressive communist regime in 1960. They had a good life in Cuba, she recalled — her grandfather had worked as a judge — until they were forced to flee and leave other relatives behind. At that point, her dad was 53 and her mom 45 with five children ranging in age from 8 years to six months.

"Just the sadness," she replied when asked what she remembered the most from her own past as a refugee. "There was this sadness for the longest time, and we didn't even celebrate birthdays. My parents were heartbroken."

Accompanied to the vigil by her husband, Cué said the current political climate recall the pall that hung over her youth: "I feel like we've lost our country. This is my second country, and I fell like we've lost it."

Jacob Aronowitz, 25, heard about the event via Facebook and made a point to express his own solidarity: "It seemed like a good opportunity for the community to come together and show that national politics don't represent us," he said.

Kelly Burnett echoed the sentiment: "I have a deep belief that we're all the same," she said. "This is an opportunity to show love to people from other parts of the world and let them know they're welcome in Austin."

The vigil came a day after hundreds of protesters turned up at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to protest Trump's executive order — one of more than 30 such demonstrations throughout the country. Just hours after the event, Trump fired Acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she directed U.S. Justice Department attorneys not to defend his immigration order while its Constitutionality was being assessed.

>>> Photos by Tony Cantú