For my Travel Writing class, I have to write an essay titled "What's the deal with Trump's travel ban?" As I've been typing it, I realized that there's a lot of people that don't understand what this travel ban really means. It means goodbye to the America we've known. My essay for the class has to be twelve pages long, but I won't bore you with all that. Here's the most important stuff.
Donald Trump has been the center of controversy for an extended period of time. Since he first announced his candidacy for President of the United States on June 16th, 2015, people immediately starting forming both negative and positive opinions. This was primarily because of his views on banning immigrants from certain countries, planned parenthood, same-sex marriage, women’s rights, building a wall to prohibit Mexicans from entering the country, etc. While some of his promises and positions during his campaign may have changed since being elected, he has stuck to one, the travel ban.
On January 27, Trump issued an executive order banning entry of immigrants from the seven primarily Muslim nations for ninety days. The countries that will be affected are Iran, Syria, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan. After this proposal was denied, Trump unveiled a new one, which excluded Iraq from the countries that were banned. However, this ban was once again blocked after a temporary restraining order was applied nationwide.
Trump’s travel ban is wrong and irrational. It is not right to automatically assume that a person is dangerous because their ethnicity or religion, and the same for refugees fleeing persecution. The idea that anyone who is Muslim is a terrorist, when most Muslims themselves fear terrorism because they are usually affected the most, is absurd. These people who just want to express their religion, which despite Trump wants you to believe, is one of peace and love. Since September 11th, not a single terrorist attack in the United States has been caused by people from the countries affected by the ban. This statement just proves the fact that assuming all of the immigrants are dangerous is unethical, especially when they’re trying to leave a country where they feel unsafe and want to find a home in America, “the land of the free.” However, it seems that America isn’t just that anymore.
The United States of America has always been known as the melting pot. For years, it was a place that people from around the globe could come and start a new life for themselves and for their families. Most people of the past few generations in America will say that their grandparents or parents are immigrants from other countries. Not only Muslim countries, but places like Italy, Mexico, Cuba, Portugal, etc. If this travel ban was put in place when they were coming here, America would most definitely not be the country it is today. If you ask anyone where their grandparents are from, I bet a vast majority would say counties other than America. This is one of the main reasons why the travel ban is illogical. It’s basically taking away one of the main things that makes America what it is, a place for people to come because they believe they will be welcomed. If this is no longer a belief, what is America anymore?
I could go on and on for hours, but I think that's enough to get my point across. The fact that students in my university are scared to go home for summer break because they may not be able to come back next semester is heartbreaking. I refuse to believe that this is "Trump's America." I refuse to live happily in a country where someone who looks different or doesn't have the same beliefs is labeled as dangerous. While we can't change Trump's crooked mind and views, we can protest peacefully by welcoming everyone we meet, despite their race, gender, sexuality, and where they come from. That's a good place to start.