Since the inauguration of President Trump, his administration has focused on fulfilling the many policies in his platform, including being tough on immigration.
The executive order signed by President Trump banning certain immigrants was intended to protect the national security of the United States. According to the New York Times, rather than knowing if people are terrorists, President Trump decided to make this law more widespread and “proactive” by prohibiting immigration of anyone from Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, and Iraq from entering the United States for 90 days, with Syrian refugees are banned indefinitely.
The Immigration Ban concerns many with its apparent contradictions to the Constitution, more specifically the First Amendment right to Freedom of Religion.
The executive order has prevented international students and faculty members from various U.S. colleges and universities from either entering for the first time, or returning to the United States. Many schools have visiting professors, both to diversify the learning environment, and contribute in school-sponsored research projects, who were detained when entering to the United States.
On January 29, two Iranian professors from UMass Dartmouth were stopped at Logan International Airport based merely on suspicion. The professors were legal permanent residents of the United States, but were still detained for a few hours.
This instills fear in students who are from the seven countries that this might happen to them. The immigration ban can have long-term effects on residents in the country because President Trump has attempted to control who comes in and out of the United States, giving preference to Christian immigrants, and has expressed his intent to fight the court rulings that declare his ban unconstitutional.
America once practiced a tradition of welcoming immigrants. Waves of immigrants helped to build this country and make it stronger. Welcoming immigrants, and not turning them away, is the true path to making America great again.