Pro immigration ban: Protecting our citizens

Liz Machnak, Staff Writer

On Sept. 11, 2001, our nation was faced with a day that will forever stick in the minds of everyone who was involved. That day, 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two were crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex which eventually caused both towers to collapse.

Since that day our nation stepped up national security by creating departments such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the National Security Agency.

On January 27, President Donald Trump chose to tighten security once again by placing a 90 day travel ban on seven countries, as well as suspending the admission of refugees for 120 days. The seven countries that travel restrict travel are Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia. A wide majority of people in these areas have an Islamic belief system and by banning travel from seven majorly Muslim countries, the ban has caused protests to break out around the United States.

Katbi Smith, a protester at Portland International Airport, told CNN, “I think it’s horrific and terrible and we are basically condemning people to death by not allowing them to come here.”

What is truly horrific is the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in our country due to the tragedy that occurred on September 11. A tragedy supported by Sudan when Sudan provided a safe haven for Osama Bin Laden in the early 1990’s.

What is truly horrific is the 14 people that were gunned down in San Bernadino California by supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. ISIS and its supporters reside in countries such as Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, (all of which are on the list of countries placed under the 90 day ban) as well as many others.

What is truly horrific is the bombings that occurred during the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring hundreds.

What is truly horrific is the fact that the families of all of these victims have to live each day without their loved one because our country wasn’t secure enough to keep the terrorists away. These families, who have already faced such a devastating tragedy, are forced to live with the news of new families who lost their loved ones. All because our country still doesn’t have the capability of protecting its citizens from outside threats even after September 11.

By pushing this 90 day travel ban, President Trump has helped keep our nation safe from outside threats. It may seem “racist”, but it’s not as though the countries blocked have never shown any sign of terrorism. Every single country blocked has had a past with terrorism. Trump has helped prevent another 9/11, another San Bernardino, another Boston Marathon. Thanks to this ban, he has helped protect all Americans.

Anti immigration ban: I lift my lamp beside the golden door

Aedin Seck, A&E Editor

On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) for 90 days. For 120 days, all refugees are also banned, and Syrian refugees have been banned indefinitely. Over 100,000 visas for foreigners inside and outside the United States have also been revoked.

A major reasoning behind the ban is to prevent terrorism- however, none of the terrorists who have carried out attacks on U.S. soil in the name of Islam in the past fifteen years have come from any nations on the list.

Even more concerning are the countries that are not included on the list. Specifically, countries where President Trump has business ties, including (but not limited to) Egypt, Saudi Arabia (home of fifteen out of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists), the United Arab Emirates, where Trump has licensed his name to a golf resort, luxury spa and resort, Indonesia, the world’s largest majority-muslim nation, and also where Trump has two resorts underway, and Turkey, where the State Department, as recently as two weeks ago, put out a travel warning to American citizens stating that “an increase in anti-American rhetoric has the potential to inspire independent actors to carry out acts of violence against US citizens.” Ironically, according to Trump’s most recent financial disclosure (released in May) he has earned over six million dollars from business deals in Turkey in the last year.

What is also concerning are the people in the banned countries that have been waiting to come to the United States. A major example being the people, especially children, that are in need of serious medical procedures that the United States can provide. Normal processing time for refugees waiting to come to America tends to be eighteen to twenty-four months, but many cases last much longer.

In an article posted by UK Reuters, an Iraqi family with a five year old son who has congenital heart disease was due to arrive in Michigan in the coming months for medical procedures, but cannot now due to the ban.

There has been a wide mix of reactions to these bans in the United States, and across the globe. To me, this new executive order is incredibly upsetting and discouraging.

Unfortunately, I am not writing from an unaffected point of view. I have family who are stationed in Armenia (aunt, uncle, four cousins) working for the U.S. State Department. I am beyond worried about my family, and how this will affect them.

With the exception of Native Americans, all U.S. citizens are immigrants one way or another. Our ancestors all came from Italy, Ireland, Germany, Europe, Africa, China, and every other country imaginable. Yet, we are all still Americans. As Lady Liberty herself says, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

The time for change is now, but is America heading in the right direction under President Trump? Although I am extremely troubled about what is happening and how this will effect my family, I also have hope.

I hope that Donald Trump turns out to be a great president. I hope he changes America for the better. I hope that we look back at his presidency and are content with the decisions he made for our country.

Mostly, though, I hope the world will be safe.