Khizr Khan asks Latinos to join fight against Trump

The father of Muslim US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed in the Iraq war, and fierce critic of President Donald Trump's travel ban, has urged Latinos to join hands with other communities to emerge even stronger, the media reported.

The only solution to such suffering is unity, Khizr Khan told Efe news on Friday during an interview in Miami in reference to Trump's recent anti-immigration measures.

The Pakistani-American lawyer urged the Latino community to remain hopeful, strong and united, to join forces with other communities, assuring them "you are not alone".

In his first week in office, Trump had signed executive orders ending safeguards for undocumented immigrants in the country and banning the entry of travellers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, among other measures affecting both the Muslim and Latin communities.

Khan said that while Trump will cause "difficulties", he believed the President will not succeed, based on his firm belief in the US judicial and legislative system.

The activist said while he felt heartened by the appeals court decision from Thursday striking down Trump's travel ban on citizens from Muslim nations, he was worried such orders (as Trump's) can be detrimental for US security.

Explaining, he said that US Army personnel deployed in Muslim countries now face much less cooperation from the Muslim community and "we need more cooperation to defeat terrorism".

Khan, who became famous for his moving speech against discrimination of Muslims during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, stressed the Democratic Party maintains its identity and "faith in good values".

Saying the election loss had led the Democratic Party to undergo a restructuring, he said they are now moving together towards a common agenda for consensus in the entire country.

Khan, who received the "America's Immigrant Spirit Award", on Friday from the Miami-based group Americans for Immigrant Justice, stressed no community is alone in this hour, and this is the moment for minorities to unite.

Confident of success as they were "on the right path," he said the US Constitution provides for all people in the country to have the same right to dignity and protection from the law.

The father of Captain Humayun Khan, killed in Iraq in 2004 in a suicide bomb attack, is best-known for having challenged Trump during the Democrat convention, when he pulled out a copy of the US Constitution and asked Trump -- Republican candidate at the time -- "Have you even read the US Constitution?"

He told Efe news he did not fear reprisals for his anti-Trump stance.

"I am not scared because I have faith in the legal system, I am a patriot, I did not break any law, the only thing I did is speak out, and that is not a crime," he concluded.

--IANS

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