February 6, 2017
Column, The Hoofbeat
Column, The Hoofbeat
My mother never thought she would be living in America. Growing up, she could not imagine herself leaving her city, Mumbai, much less her country, India. But two years after she married my father, they decided to apply for an American work visa as computer software consultants.
In 1994, their visa was approved. Two aspiring and capable 24-year-olds found themselves in an unknown world. Upon entering America, excitement overwhelmed my parents. To them, this country was big, modern, and most notably, clean. This type of story is well-known among thousands of immigrants in the U.S. Dreaming of the land of opportunity, arriving in an unknown place, and living through the culture shock—immigrants from around the world understand what it is like to leave home in search of a better life. They also know what it is like to feel like an outsider. Though opportunities seemed endless, my parents still talk about how they were constantly conscious of their differences. At first, people messed up their orders because their accent was unfamiliar. There was always underlying resentment from others about “stealing American jobs.” Still, they stayed in the U.S. and continued to build their livelihood and home together. Their story lives on today with a positive and successful outlook. Other stories of immigration are not headed in that direction. On Friday, Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order on immigration that indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., suspended all refugee admissions for 90 days, and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The order is a dangerous, discriminatory, and impractical policy. Trump’s rationale for implementation is based on protecting the American people from terrorism. However, no immigrants from the seven banned countries have killed anyone in terrorist attacks in the U.S. (The Atlantic). American terrorist attacks were conducted by citizens from countries that were not on Trump's list, but were likely associated with Trump's business connections. The Cato Institute’s analysis concludes that Syrian refugees are not a security threat. No recent attacks would have been prevented by this order. We have seen this type of racial and religious profiling repeat itself throughout American history. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Asian Immigration Ban of 1917, refusal to increase Jewish quotas during WWII—these policies are continuously driven by discriminatory impulses. The irony of signing Trump's latest executive order on Holocaust remembrance day is apparent. In the 1930s, the U.S. turned back Jewish immigrants who came to America during the Holocaust. Most of them, including Anne Frank, died in Auschwitz (The Atlantic). GOP officials stated that our nation will never allow individuals to suffer in the same way, but then turn around to continue banning refugees who are in dire need of safety. Blanketed executive orders fail to recognize that America is a nation built by immigrants. Our success and beauty comes from the diversity of our unique backgrounds. Trump’s executive order makes it clear that the xenophobia and islamophobia in his campaign will remain rampant during his presidency. He ignites a fear of outsiders, foreigners, and the unknown. But we cannot allow our country to succumb to a policy driven by fear. Our actions must be centered on compassion and careful consideration. As I ask my parents if they are happy with their decision to stay in the U.S., they are met with mixed feelings. They miss their home in India. But they recognize that they would not have thrived as they do now without immigrating. When my parents entered America, they saw the unknown as a place for opportunity. That is the ideology we should all be adopting. Those who are different from us are not scary, they are people with beauty and capability—something that will only make our country stronger. |