American groups mobilize against Trump's new vision for America
Three days after the U.S. election, many Americans have been protesting Donald Trump's upcoming presidency in the streets, worried that much of what President Obama accomplished in office, will soon be dismantled by Trump.
Despite questions about how much they can actually do to stop him, Democrats and groups who oppose Trump's policies are mobilizing to do what they can to fight him.
Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations tells The Current's Friday host Kelly Crowe that his group has been monitoring a spike in anti-Muslim incidents around the country.
"There's tremendous anxiety in the American-Muslim community about their future."
Hooper's organization has called on Trump to repudiate attacks on Muslim women. But in terms of fighting against proposed Trump legislations that concern him, such as banning all Muslims from entering the U.S., he says they may be limited in what they can do.
"All we can do is rely in the courts," says Hooper. "I don't think even Donald Trump could do religious tests at the border...where if you say you're Muslim you can't enter. I hope that couldn't be done legally."
Maria McFarland, co-director of the U.S. program for Human Rights Watch, agrees that fighting Trump's proposed policies won't be easy.
"We're going to have to be very creative," she says. "We're obviously going to be documenting any [human rights] abuses very carefully."
But ultimately, advocacy groups that oppose Trump's policies will have to rely on another promise the president-elect made, this one after he was voted in.
"We are holding him to his promise that he will be a president for all Americans," says McFarland.
Listen to the full conversation.
This segment was produced by The Current's Liz Hoath, Willow Smith and Ines Colabrese.