“Get up, get down, Columbia is an immigrant town.”
This was one of many chants recited during the Families Belong Together protest held Saturday in front of the Boone County Courthouse.
Columbia was one of more than 600 cities to hold a rally protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including the separation of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Nearly 500 people turned out for the rally and march in Columbia, both organized by local groups including CoMo for Progress, MU Socialists and Peaceworks.
Palestinian-American Jalal El-Jayyousi spoke during the rally, saying the U.S. has an “out-of-control mass incarceration system that destroys families.”
“This is disgraceful,” he said. “Where is the outrage?”
El-Jayyousi also said we shouldn’t be surprised by the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several predominantly Muslim countries.
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