President Donald Trump signed his controversial travel ban order last weekend while I was celebrating Lunar New Year with my family in Palm Springs. I tried to put aside thoughts on it because I should be happy during the first days of a new year; otherwise, bad luck will come to me. It’s part of our tradition and beliefs in Vietnam.
Now, with the festive atmosphere gone, I am pulled back to the harsh reality this country faces. A convoluted shift of its political climate is running at full, drastic speed.
The travel ban affected people traveling to America from seven Muslim-majority countries. According to an article in USA Today by Alan Gomez and Richard Wolf, a federal appeals court held a hearing on Tuesday evening to further scrutinize the ban after the order was blocked by Seattle Judge James Robert last week. The case is suspected to go to the Supreme Court, and it must be struck down.
My country, Vietnam, is not on the list— but I feel the need to express my sympathy for those affected because this ban is discriminatory and only scratches the surface. I can relate to the people affected by this order because my relatives in America are immigrants. This allows me to empathize with my Muslim American friends and colleagues who have emigrated from their home countries to the United States.
The agony is that this executive order suddenly tears immigrant families apart. Families of immigrants endure great pain when they arrive at airports only to find out their expected guests are taken into custody and waiting to be deported.
To explain the need for this order, President Trump cites his concerns about national security. The president has an obligation to protect American lives after several recent terrorist attacks in Europe and America. The bombing at Boston Marathon and the mass shootings in San Bernadino and Orlando have left us in a heartbroken and panicked state.
Still, people must question the immigration ban’s legitimacy and consequences.
In an amicus brief filed against this order, former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former director of the CIA Leon Panetta and other national security officials argue that this ban is superficial:
“This order cannot be justified on national security or foreign policy grounds. . . . To the contrary, the order disrupts thousands of lives, including those of refugees and visa holders all previously vetted by standing procedures that the administration has not shown to be inadequate.”
Furthermore, renowned universities in Massachusetts, such as Harvard and MIT, submitted a different amicus brief saying that this order restricts their targeted international students and faculty members from traveling to America and that International scholars plan to boycott the conferences hosted by these institutions.
Although President Trump aims to improve national security with this order, it is, xenophobic and one dimensional. Its ramifications devastate America. We must continue to file lawsuits, protest and march against it so that the American dream continues to be available to all of us – not only to some.
My relatives immigrated to this country after the Vietnam War, when their wealth became a vestige of the defeated capitalist government. They felt oppressed by the new political system and thus ran away in pursuit of a better life.
Since arriving in America, they have been working hard to make their livings. They strove to learn a new language, adapt to a foreign environment and assimilate into a different culture.
Some of my relatives chose their humble careers because they wanted to secure financial stability as well as their lives. Others reached their full potentials by graduating from and teaching at prestigious universities. Hard work is a key factor in their success. The American dream is in their veins. It propels them to success.
Like my relatives, Muslim immigrants pursue the American dream, and they strive to make it come true. They are in pursuit of a better life and want to contribute to the prosperity of this country. Therefore, we should welcome them.