Over 200 people gathered in the heart of Paterson's Middle Eastern district Wednesday night to show solidarity to Muslims and immigrants.
PATERSON -- Over 200 people stood in solidarity with Muslims and protested President Donald Trump's travel ban on Wednesday night in the heart of the city's predominantly Middle Eastern section.
Participants holding signs that ranged from promoting unity to criticism of Trump packed Gould Park between Main and Pacific streets to protest the Executive Order signed on Friday that temporarily banned refugees from seven majority-Muslim nations.
"We won't be silent and we won't be quite," said Passaic County Freeholder Assad Akhter. "We had Arabs and Muslims here [in Paterson] for over 100-years, they built this city."
Akhter, a Paterson native and former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-9th), was elected in December as the first Muslim Freeholder in the county.
A majority of those in attendance wore headscarves and many said they hailed from Palestine. They gathered with others in the area filled with Middle Eastern markets and restaurants and where public signs are also in Arabic.
"This is unnecessary and we want our rights," said 24-year-old Palestinian Suhaib Jubran. "We're all one, one nation, neighbors."
Earlier in the day, N.J. lawmakers gathered at Liberty State Park to protest the order, which halted the U.S. refugee program and banned entry from seven Muslim-majority nations for 90 days.
Anita Young, a Unitarian from Ridgewood, said she hadn't seen people come together in solidarity over the ban since the 1960's, when she participated in Civil Rights marches, Women's Rights marches and Vietnam War protests.
"What is going on today is an apparent disgrace to our society," said Young.
Confusion reigned at airports across the U.S., including Newark, over the weekend as those from the seven countries were detained and even sent back, including green-card holders.
A woman at the rally, who only wished to give her first name as Aida, said even as a U.S. citizen she is worried about a planned trip in the summer to her homeland of Jordan.
"I'm scared," said Aida. "I'm Muslim and not sure what will happen when I go in the summer."
About a third of all Paterson residents are foreign-born, according to Census data. With a majority of those hailing from Latin America, people in attendance also protested Trump's plans to build a wall across the southern border with Mexico.
Despite the mix of ethnicities, native New Jerseyans said they were compelled to come out against Trump's ban.
One of them was 59-year-old Debbie Giardello of Pompton Plains. Giardello, who said her great-grandparents were immigrants from Italy, was at the rally Wednesday with a sign that read "Ashamed of this America."
"What's happening in this country is bad," said Giardello. "I've never done anything like this in my life, I was never involved in politics, but I can't sit by anymore."
Fausto Giovanny Pinto may be reached at fpinto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @FGPreporting. Find NJ.com on Facebook.