Hundreds gather in Austin to protest against Syrian refugee ban by Gov. Abbott

More than 1,000 people marched in downtown Austin Saturday calling for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to allow Syrian refugees in.

Nour Al-Ghraowi knows first-hand the terror certain cities in Syria are facing.

“I used to wake up in the morning and say goodbye to my parents because I never know if I'm coming back or not,” Al-Ghraowi, Syrian student, said.

After a few tries, she is now planning to finish her education right here in Austin. Her family is still trying their hardest to make it out of Damascus, Syria, to join their daughter in the United States.

“What they don't understand is that refugees are not terrorists,” Al-Ghraowi said.

More than 1,000 people agree with her. They gathered in downtown Austin and marched from Wooldridge Park to the governor's mansion. Last week Governor Greg Abbott released a letter, stating Texas would not allow Syrian refugees.

“I would tell Governor Abbott, just imagine you being on the other side of the door. Imagine you being outside in the cold, not having food,” Al-Ghraowi said.

“There's so many other more important things that Abbott is just dropping the ball on and Abbott just does this,” John Covington, demonstrator, said.

The majority of the country agrees with Abbott. Recent polls show more than half of Americans do not want Syrian refugees coming into the country.

“The refugees are running from the terrorists. They're not trying to drag that on,” Covington said.

Whether for or against refugee resettlement, there is one thing that the majority of Americans do agree on, and that's the desire to eliminate ISIS.

“Those refugees are escaping terrorism and they are escaping ISIS We're not with I.S.I.S. we hate ISIS, we fight ISIS,” Al-Ghraowi said.