Anti-immigration protests spread to Blunt’s office

| Staff Reporter

Nationwide protests against President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration—which has been called a “Muslim ban”—and other immigration policies spread to the Clayton, Mo. offices of Senator Roy Blunt this past Wednesday.

The protests were organized by the St. Louis chapter of Indivisible, a nonprofit advocacy organization founded in response to the 2016 presidential election. While this rally focused on immigration and refugee policy, past Indivisible protests have criticized other new policies in the name of “resisting the Trump agenda.”

 People rally outside of Republican Senator Roy Blunt’s office Feb. 1 at the corner of Hanley and Bonhomme. The “Stand for Refugees and Immigrants” event was arranged to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration.


People rally outside of Republican Senator Roy Blunt’s office Feb. 1 at the corner of Hanley and Bonhomme. The “Stand for Refugees and Immigrants” event was arranged to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration.

Hundreds of protesters packed the intersection of Hanley Road and Bonhomme Avenue, stretching in multiple-block lines, before a group of 10 protesters selected by Indivisible St. Louis voiced their concerns indoors, with Blunt’s staff.

Annie Danis, one of the lead Indivisible organizers, addressed the crowd through a megaphone and was hardly audible amongst the crowd’s chants. She noted the urgency of the protests.

“When we created this event last Thursday, we thought we would be here with a few dozen people taking a stand against issues that were still in the discussion stage. Now, hundreds of us are here, standing up for immigrants and refugees in the face of a despicable executive order signed late Friday night—Trump’s much-discussed “Muslim ban” has become a tragic reality,” Danis said to the crowd.

Danis also outlined the rally’s intent of gathering Blunt’s constituents to voice their opposition to the new administration’s immigration policies.

“Senator Blunt was silent on the ban for days. Yesterday, he broke his silence to voice his support for it. Without going into the many reasons he is wrong, we need to let Senator Blunt know that we see him. And we won’t forget this. He can make things right by standing up for freedom, decency and democracy, and that’s what we are here to ask him to do,” she added.

The protest gathered a diverse crowd of protesters, many of whom held signs depicting a popular image of a woman wearing an American flag as a hijab. The protesters were verbally active as well, starting chants such as, “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here” and “No hate, no wall, America is here for all.”

St. Peters, Mo. resident Martha Thompson, a repeat protester, explained that Blunt’s office has been the site of many rallies opposing the senator’s support of Trump’s agenda.

“This is an immigrants’ march, and that is the reason I’m here, but this is not the first or second or third time I’ve been at Roy Blunt’s office. There are protests almost daily,” Thompson said. “They started before the inauguration, though I didn’t come before the inauguration, [and they were] mostly related to the Affordable Care Act. Lately, they’ve been more about Cabinet picks.”

Cassie O’Neil, a Master’s student in Social Work at Saint Louis University studying immigrants and refugees, hopes St. Louis college students will continue to organize.

“I just hope people stay engaged and don’t lose the momentum. Come out—you can protest, you can write your senators, you can write your congressmen. Activate yourself locally—don’t forget about the mayoral race, if you live in the city, or [about the] congressional races. Just stay engaged; don’t lose the momentum,” O’Neil said.

University of Missouri-St. Louis undergraduate Heather Taylor, another college student in the crowd, called upon local students to put aside their apathy or discomfort and harness the energy of the political moment.

“I’m just here in support of the cause. I love refugees, and I love Muslims. I have a former roommate who’s a Somali Muslim, so this is important to me. I have social anxiety, so if I can do it, you can do it, all of you who aren’t so thrilled,” Taylor said.

In an interview after her speech, Danis herself outlined her own experience with political apathy to stress the importance of staying politically active.

“I was involved with the [Barack] Obama campaign in 2008. Then, I got kind of disenchanted, and in the last cycle, I didn’t do much. Then, this happened, and I felt viscerally sick. On TV, I saw Ezra Levin talk about the Indivisible Guide, a manual on how to [organize], so I’m following the guide,” Danis said.

Danis also called upon college students upset with the new administration’s policies to contribute to the ongoing protests and to remain politically engaged.

“Come join us, come join us! Make a noise; call these people. Write a letter. We are going to be here every week,” Danis said.

Sign up for the email edition

Stay up to date with everything happening at Washington University and beyond.

Subscribe