On Wednesday evening, community and religious leaders were joined by hundreds of people to express their displeasure with President Trump's executive order banning refugees from entering the country.

The march took place in the City of Poughkeepsie and went down the eastbound arterial to the Mansion Street Post Office.

The crowd of approximately 500 filled the grandiose steps of the post office and overflowed onto the sidewalk and street, causing the city police to close down a portion of Civic Center Plaza and Mansion Street.

Reverend Chris Antal, President of the Greater Newburgh Interfaith Council was not in attendance but sent a prepared reading that was voiced by community leaders and responded to by the attendees. In the reading, Antal's words explained the reason for the march by saying "President Trump's executive orders banning refugees from entering the United States and suspending visas of those from a majority of Muslim countries is like taking a wrecking ball to the Statue of Liberty, dashing the hopes of "the huddled masses" across the globe. The attendees responded by saying "we repudiate this attempt to allow fear, xenophobia, and bigotry destroy innocent lives and undermine the best of who we are as Americans and people of conscience".

When asked why she was attending, Susan Savito, accompanied by her young son Nico Hunter, said that she was there to show solidarity with the immigrants while also protesting the ban.

The march was peaceful except for the employee of a process serving office located on the arterial. The female employee was on the steps of the business telling the marchers to "get a job" along with referring to them with derogatory words that are not suitable for print.

 

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