Donald J. Trump has been in office for a little more than a week and he has already managed to spark outrage that has traveled far beyond the borders of this country. Last week, President Trump announced that he would be enforcing strict new policies in order to prevent domestic attacks. On Friday, Jan. 27, President Trump went on to sign an executive order that banned and suspended any refugees from 7 Muslim majority countries, including Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Syria.
Immediately following the signing of the executive order, at least 109 travelers from those 7 countries were either denied entry into the United States and sent back to their home country, detained at airports, or were not allowed to board their flights, all because of where they were from. Trump insists that this executive order is “not a Muslim ban” but the rest of the world seems to think otherwise. There is already at least one class-action lawsuit coming out of New York to challenge the order following the detainment of two Iraqis, Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkaleq Alshawi, at JFK airport.
What has been a pleasantly surprising outcome following all of this controversy has been the way people all across the country have come together to combat this act of hatred and xenophobia. There has been a flood of protests nationwide advocating for the release of detained immigrants and their freedom to stay in the United States. People gathered at airports in New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Washington D.C, San Francisco and Philadelphia and were chanting things like “No hate, no fear. Muslims are welcome here”, “Let them in!” and “Say Hey, Say Ho, the Muslim ban has got to go!”. A few federal judges, such as Ann Donnelly, have even stepped up and temporarily placed a hold on orders of deportation for visa holding immigrants. The flood of support from cities all across this country has shown that President Trump’s vision for America does not match up with the vision of a majority of the American people.
Even with all of the hate and intolerance that had come from both the speech and the actions of our new President, it warms my heart to see Americans come together and stand up for what’s right and that is freedom, tolerance, and above all, love.
