Abdurahim Ahmed cracks a sympathetic smile, recounting how his 7-year-old son fears the government will deport him to Ethiopa. Ahmed, a U.S. citizen, has to keep reminding his boy that he was born in Colorado.

“He says ‘They’re going to send me back! What are we going to do?,’ ” said Ahmed, an Imam, or religious leader, at the Tawhid Islamic Center on St. Paul’s Dale Street. “He was born here.”

Sign says "I'm a refugee, a Muslim, and a proud, loyal American." pic.twitter.com/y2hPuVnA9m — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) February 9, 2017

Ahmed was at Skyline Tower, a large low-income high rise apartment building near Lexington Parkway, Wednesday night, joined by cultural and religious leaders, and more than 200 residents from the city’s East African immigrant communities, along with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell. The building has become a hub for Somali and Oromo refugees, many of whom worry openly about anti-immigrant tones in the national political climate.

“These are critical times,” Coleman said. “We will stand firmly with you. … Our police officers are here to protect you, not to oppress you.”

Over 200 people at Skyline Tower. Audience member said there was an immigration raid in Apple Valley/Burnsville area pic.twitter.com/FogJ51eUWf — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) February 9, 2017

The mayor said the goal of the meeting was to reassure residents that they can continue to look to the city for services and to the police for protection, regardless of the rhetoric coming from Washington. The city’s separation ordinance restricts officers from asking about a person’s immigration status when they call for help.

“I want you to know as police chief that we are here in your service and we are the local police, and not the national police,” Axtell told the crowd. “We work for you, the community. … We have got a longstanding practice and policy that we do not ask for papers confirming citizenship. We don’t do that, and we never will.”

Coleman: "Our police department is here to protect everyone in our community whether you're Muslim,Latino or SE Asian pic.twitter.com/4xekBfnM9Q — FredMelo, Reporter (@FrederickMelo) February 9, 2017

The first question of the night was posed by a Muslim woman who wondered if she’ll ever be reunited with her daughter in Ethiopia, which is home to the largest numbers of refugees in Africa. The mayor said that in light of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order halting the United States’ refugee resettlement program for 120 days, the answer to that question may lie with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which is expected to rule on the travel ban this week. Related Articles St. Paul council approves mayor’s basic-income project for poor families

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Neighborhood resident Abdul Abdullahi, 29, said the meeting, while appreciated, didn’t go far enough to address real concerns about hate crimes and Islamaphobia — “especially the ladies, they’re very visible,” he said. While he knew of no examples in St. Paul, women in other Minnesota cities have reported having their head scarves, or hijabs, torn off their heads.

Sheikh Neelain Muhammad, a resident of Skyline Tower, used his time at the microphone to implore city leaders to see the community as an apple tree. “And some apples that fall off the tree are rotten,” he said. “But the majority of the people here are sweet.”