Local Arab Americans pose with Sanders at the Dearborn UAW.

DEARBORN – “When
he talks about shutting the door of America to Muslims, all he’s talking about
is scapegoating minorities,” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders
told a diverse crowd of local residents at the UAW Local 600 hall in Dearborn. “We
will not accept that bait.”

Sanders’
hard-hitting words against Republican front runner Donald Trump was one of
several moments that drew a large reaction from attendees during his campaign
stop on Monday, February 15.

A significant
number of Arab American residents from around metro Detroit attended the event.
They were among hundreds of Sanders’ supporters who waited hours in a line that
wrapped around the UAW building in the Southend.

“The issues he
stands up for are things an everyday person would want,” said Dearborn resident
Samar Alsalmi. “He’s not a billionaire that is against the little people. He’s
a person who cares about everyone. He is very well informed about everything.
He goes against Donald Trump, which is everything an Arab American would want.”

Many local Arab,
Latino and African American metro Detroit residents were selected to stand behind
Sanders as he delivered his speech in the hall that was packed with 700
attendees.

A Dearborn fire marshal
said that organizers had to stop letting people into the building after it
reached maximum capacity.

Along with his
denouncement of the hate rhetoric that’s been sweeping the Republican Party,
Sanders also called out free trade agreements, corrupt campaigns and the
country’s broken education system during his one-hour speech.

“How crazy is it
that hundreds of thousands of bright and qualified young people, who want to go
to college and should be in college, are unable to go to college because their
families lack the funds,” Sanders said. “That is why I believe in the year
2016, when we talk about public education…we have to be making certain that
public colleges and universities are tuition free.”

Sanders was not
shy about addressing residents’ growing frustrations in Michigan, starting with
the Flint water crisis. He noted that earlier in the day, he had met with
residents who had been severely impacted by the contaminated water, calling the
disaster-struck city “the canary in the coal mine.”

“What I heard from
these families was not only tragic, it was unbelievable,” Sanders said. “Imagine
being the mom of a bright young daughter and seeing that child mentally
deteriorate in front of your eyes…when I left that meeting I said, ‘what
country am I living in? Is this the United States of America?’”

He also drew a reaction
from the crowd when he addressed police brutality, another issue that has
impacted metro Detroit, following the deaths of two residents who were fatally
shot by Dearborn police.

“Most police
officers are honest doing very difficult jobs,” Sanders said. “But like any
other public official, when a police officer breaks the law that officer must
be held accountable. We have got to demilitarize local police officers. We’ve
got to make police departments look like the diversity of the communities they
are serving.”

Throughout much of
his speech, Sanders also focused on job creation in Michigan, stating that
minimum wage needs to be increased to $15 an hour and that money needs to be
spent on creating jobs to fix the state’s crumbling roads and bridges.

Sanders also took
slight jabs at Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, stating that the TPP
(Trans-Pacific Partnership) deal she had initially supported resulted in the loss
of more than 60,000 factories in America. He also indirectly took a dig at her campaign fundraising,
when he condemned large donor contributors in the Election.

“There’s a corrupt
campaign finance system, in which billionaires are in the process are buying
elections,” Sanders said. “I believe that Democracy is one person and one
vote.”

Following his
speech, Sanders spent several minutes meeting and greeting attendees and posing
in photos with his supporters at the UAW.

The UAW has not
yet endorsed either Sanders or Clinton. But on the campaign trails, both
candidates have spoken at UAW locals to show support for the working middle
class.

Local 600 Vice
President Tony Richard told The Arab American News that Sanders’ speech
resonated well with not only the local UAW, which represents 9,000 Ford
workers, but with the Detroit community and local Muslim residents as well.

 “He had some fine points and it came out
really well,” Richard said. “He spoke on behalf of the Detroit community and he
also spoke on behalf of the Arabic community, because they were here. He was
talking about how he wanted equality across the board.”

For local Arab
residents, Sanders’ appearance in Dearborn cemented support from the majority
of the community, who are growing reluctant to throw their backing behind
Clinton.

Dearborn Heights
resident Fahtme Abdallah said the majority of Arab and Muslim residents should
back Sanders over Clinton, because of his record on foreign policy.

“He is not afraid
to come out and support us,” Abdallah said. “He is not afraid to go out there
and mention Palestine, which is huge in the political world. Everyone shies
away from that. He’s not afraid to say that he does not support Netanyahu. I
think that’s huge for us…especially for Muslims.”

But Sanders’
appearance here didn’t go without some criticism. Some attendees pointed out
that he did not address the environment, a sensitive issue in the Southend of
Dearborn and southwest Detroit—neighborhoods that are plagued by toxic
emissions from surrounding mega-factories.

“Bernie! Don’t
forget about the environment,” one bystander shouted at him as he exited the
UAW hall.

Others expressed
slight disappointment that he didn’t stress stronger points on Muslim and Arab
issues, topics he was projected to elaborate on during his trip to Dearborn, a
city with a Muslim population of greater than 40 percent.

However, the
majority of Arab attendees left the event enthused about the possibility of
Sanders making it to the White House. In a presidential election where
minorities have been turned off by Trump’s fear-mongering rhetoric and
Clinton’s wishy-washy views, Sanders is charming the working middle class
community of Michigan, which includes Muslims and Arabs.

“Senator Sanders’
words today echoed the thoughts and concerns of many local residents, allowing
him to connect with the Southeast Michigan community,” said Dearborn resident
Mahde Abdallah. “I’m behind his campaign, due to his integrity in this
election, consistent views throughout his public service career and his
representation of the everyday Americans who are being overlooked on Capitol
Hill.”

Sanders will
return to Michigan to face off against Clinton in a debate on March 6 in Flint.
Michigan’s primary will be held two days later on March 8.