Newswriting students weigh in on the so-called Immigration Ban

Students from the Newswriting class this spring took time to study the facts of the Executive Order detaining immigrants and respond in an editorial exercise. You can send your letter to the editor at Pulse@Findlay.edu with “Letter to the editor” clearly marked in the subject line.

Laura Hernandez Arteaga, junior Journalism major  

As an international student, I am afraid about my future career.

The new president of the United States is blocking the entrance to the U.S. to several countries. And, plenty of thoughts are running in my mind.

  • Am I going to be able to come back next semester?
  • Am I going to be able to finish my major?
  • Is it going to get worst?
  • How far is he going to go?

This country seems to be changing day after day. It has been just a week, and we have seen things change that are violating the most important Amendments. As an international Journalist living and studying in United States, I am afraid that we won’t be able to do our jobs as we are supposed to. We won’t be able to stand up and give our opinion, as the “Free Speech” is one of the values that describes America. The rights of journalists are changing and being violated.

Is America as great as it used to be? 72 percent of Americans do not even think this country is the best in the world anymore. There is a lack of work ethic, human values, and freedom of speech that people need to stand up for.

However, Mr. Trump sold his election saying “Make America Great Again”. But is it getting any better? America is the most diverse country in the world. And this is what makes this country so powerful because of the different cultures becoming in one big culture called America.

Maybe, Americans do not agree in what ails the country, but there is a realistic fact that this country is suffering, and there is people dealing with those consequences. 

 

Juliyana Straley, sophomore Marketing major/Digital Media minor

President Trump has seemed to create even more chaos this week with his Executive Order Immigration Ban. Take a breath and sit down and look at the facts.

Muslims are not banned from this country.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The Executive Order is not a hate crime against Muslims. It is a 90-day ban on people entering the United States from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. It applies only to new immigrant and non-immigrant entry. If you are a permanent resident of the U.S. or a green-card holder you are fine to leave and enter the country as you please. There also can be exceptions from the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security that would allow interpreters and allies to enter the U.S. during the 90-day period.

The Immigration Ban temporarily halts refugee admissions for 120 days to improve the vetting process. A cap on refugee admissions is set at 50,000 per year, but there is an indefinite hold on Syrian refugee admissions. This means that the U.S. is not permanently closing its doors to all refugees. It is important to recall that in 2002, the U.S. admitted only 27,131 refugees and in 2011 and 2012, Obama only let in slightly above 50,000 refugees into the country. Looking at the facts, Trump is not the drastic, evil, Muslim hating human the media is portraying him to be.

I do believe that Syrian refugees should be allowed entry into the U.S. and I applaud all businesses like Starbucks and Ikea who are making jobs for Syrian refugees, however; I enjoy my safety quite a bit. This Executive Order allows time to strengthen and review border control policies and immigration policies to keep Americans safe. Safety is Trump’s number one concern, isn’t that something to be happy about?

You lock the doors of your home to keep you and your family safe, not because you hate everyone on the other side.

Miles Craven, senior Public Relations major/Digital Media minor

The United States of America has always prided itself on diversity. Because of that fact our nation has seen an immense amount of immigration over the years. With the signing of President Trump’s executive order this past Friday, this could all change.

In 2016 we were unfortunately exposed to a number of tragic losses in our country that stemmed from violent acts of terrorism. Due to these events I feel that we need to come up with a way to improve national security, however I don’t think that the immigration ban is the way to do it.

Some are referring to the president’s order, as a “Muslim ban,” however this term is inaccurate. While the ban focuses on suspending rights to enter the U.S. for seven majority Muslim nations, it says nothing about the rest of the Muslim countries in the world. While seven nations doesn’t seem like a lot, we are singling out these countries based on the actions of radicals and not taking into consideration the rest of these people who just want to move to a better place. It just doesn’t seem fair.

That being said there are some questions about how it will affect those who are already here. Anyone with U.S. citizenship will not be required to leave. Green-card holders are also excluded from those banned from staying here. It does however target those with dual citizenship if one of those is not a U.S. citizenship.

How did President Trump decide which countries would be under this immigration ban? The answer to that is, he didn’t. These seven Muslim nations were listed under section 217(a)(12) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12) of the U.S. code which was cited in the executive order itself. This was put in place by the Obama administration during his time in office. So we should blame former President Barack Obama right?

Wrong! Obama’s legislation did not prohibit travel to the U.S. It simply required individuals from these countries to obtain visas before entry.

I feel that President Trump is overstepping the line between suspension and banning immigration simply because he can. Punishing the many for the actions of the few is not the image I’d like to see the United States project of itself on the rest of the world. I’d prefer us to stay a diverse nation where people can feel safe and welcome.

Safety however, is apparently the main concern.

 

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