A protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration order drew families from Springfield’s Muslim community.
It happened Monday at the Old State Capitol historic site.
11-year-old Aliya Hashmi says it’s her first ever protest; she thinks the president’s order targets people who have done nothing wrong.
“I don’t think it’s right, and it’s not really fair to innocent people who haven’t done anything against the Constitution, and Trump’s making a big deal about nothing, so,” Hashmi said.
Also present at the protest was Iraqi tourist Fatsma Mustafa. She’s visiting her son and daughter-in-law, who live in Springfield. She says she’s worried that when she returns home in March, she won’t be able to visit her son again.
“I have a visa to come back. I don't know if I can,” Mustafa said.
Her daughter-in-law is Luma Jassen, a U.S. citizen who grew up in Iraq, says her mother-in-law came to Springfield on a tourist visa.
“And we’re afraid if she goes back she doesn’t come back,” Jassen said.
She teared up listening to one of the speeches.
“That’s the one thing I love about America, is that you can speak your thoughts and you can be open about it,” she said. “Where we come from you could never speak up to what you think and protest against the government.”
Jassen’s husband is a student at the University of Illinois Springfield. He’s from Iraq and is a permanent resident of the U.S. There’s been confusion about whether people with his legal status are affected by the president’s order.
