Jorge Chacón holds an American flag and speaks to protesters as Tyler MacKay, at left, listens. Mackay, Central Washington constituent services liaison for Congressman Dave Reichert listened to the concerns of the protesters who wanted Reichert to clarify his position on President Trump’s immigration ban.
Jorge Chacón holds an American flag and speaks to protesters as Tyler MacKay, at left, listens. Mackay, Central Washington constituent services liaison for Congressman Dave Reichert listened to the concerns of the protesters who wanted Reichert to clarify his position on President Trump’s immigration ban.
WENATCHEE — Chanting and waving signs, more than 50 members of a local group calling itself “Mission Indivisible” Tuesday peacefully gathered outside the Wenatchee office of Congressman Dave Reichert to urge him to reject President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration.
Group members say the order, which provoked confusion, anger and detentions at airports across the country this past weekend, amounts to a ban on Muslims' entry into the United States.
“This is truly a collaboration of many people and many churches, that’s why it’s so heart-warming, so comforting,” said Jorge Chacón, a founding member of the Wenatchee-based family- and education-focused nonprofit, CAFE.
Chacón, who shouldered an American flag as he spoke, is an immigrant from Mexico and veteran of the Vietnam War. He was a co-organizer of the 3:30 p.m. demonstration.
The demonstration swelled to more than 200 people by 5 p.m. for a high-energy twilight rally in Memorial Park that filled all four corners of the intersection of Chelan Avenue and Orondo Street with chanting and sign waving. Passing motorists also got in on the action with their car horns.
Congressman Reichert was in Washington, D.C., during the earlier demonstration. His local representative Tyler MacKay met with the demonstrators on the sidewalk and welcomed about a dozen of them into the congressman’s third-floor office at 5 South Wenatchee Ave.
Tom Young, the congressman’s deputy district director of in Issaquah, participated in the meeting by phone.
“We’re here to express our serious concerns and ask him to withdraw his support for the executive order that has been dubbed a ‘Muslim ban,’ " local attorney Joe Morrison of Columbia Legal Services, said minutes before the meeting with MacKay.
“Other ‘indivisible groups’ are forming,” Morrison said. “We are highly, highly concerned that the Trump agenda will take American backwards. We want the congressman to know we are here, we disagree vehemently… and we want our representatives to be responsive to our concerns.”
Members of the vocal but polite crowd shouted their support its support as Chacón and Morrison spoke to MacKay on the sidewalk, saying they demanded that Reichert clarify his position.
Reichert, an Issaquah Republican, and newly elected Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, a democrat, Friday announced their co-sponsored a bill that would allow young immigrants who were brought here by their parents to be excluded from the president’s executive order.
But Morrison and other group members say Reichert's view of the president's executive order has been less clear.
Reichert posted the following comment on his Facebook page over the weekend:
"Careful vetting to ensure the safety of the American people is the responsibility of the federal government and one I take very seriously. Unfortunately what we saw this past weekend was mass confusion and miscommunication between government agencies and the improper apprehension of people legally allowed to be in the U.S. I urge the administration to work with Congress on solutions that protect our borders while maintaining our nation's dedication to compassion and religious freedom."
“This is what community looks like! This is what community looks like” chanted the crowd at the twilight rally. Others yelled, “No ban. No Wall!” and “Stand up to Trump!” Motorists who honked as the passed by provoked enthusiastic whoops from the crowd.
In Spanish, a family group yelled out a rhyme that translated roughly as, “Here we are. We're here to stay. And if you kick us out, we’ll come back, anyway.
Many carried signs that rejected not only the president’s executive order on immigration but his pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico.
Here’s what a few of the signs said: “No Ban. No Wall.” “We are all immigrants and refugees.” “$25 billion – Don’t waste our money on a damn wall.” “My dad was an immigrant.” “What kind of country leaves children in a war zone?” “Jesus loves Muslims, too.” “This isn’t normal.”
Chacón said support is growing across North Central Washington, with groups forming in other communities.
Trump Admnistration officials have denied that the president’s executive order bans or discriminates against Muslims or violates U.S. law.
Law suits have already been filed challenging the order, including one from Washington State.
Christine Pratt: 665-1173
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