AUSTIN, Texas-- Just two blocks from the Texas Capitol, hundreds gathered at Wooldridge Park on Sunday to protest a decision by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to reject Syrian refugees fleeing war.
Young adults, parents, and children gathered in solidarity with one request: welcome refugees.
Organizers took the stage to talk about the war-torn country and explain the rigorous refugee application process Syrians--along with other refugee-seekers--go through before resettling in the United States.
The protest comes after a Nov. 16 announcement by Gov. Abbott, who wrote in an open letter to President Obama that the state would not welcome Syrian refugees, claiming welcoming Syrians poses a terrorism threat in the Lone Star State. The governor's actions followed the Nov. 13 Paris attacks.
Gov. Abbott joined 30 other state governors in the rejection movement-- although, constitutionally, their requests are far from doable.
The U.S. has only accepted 2,200 Syrian refugees since their civil war broke out in 2011--a number incredibly low in comparison to European countries welcoming hundreds of thousands.
In Austin, supporters hope that this nation, too, will step up to help with the humanitarian crisis.