The Travel Ban Effects on Muslims
The Alien and Sedition Acts. The Chinese Exclusion Act. The Travel Ban.
Philosopher George Santayana once said, “those who can’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If this is true, America is surely amongst the forgetful.
On January 27th, 2017, President Trump adds to the list of policies and acts restricting immigration, as history repeats itself with the Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. AKA the Travel Ban. Or more popularly known as the Muslim Ban. This order suspended the entry of any citizens from Muslim majority countries for a period of ninety days.
With a stroke of a pen, according to Maryellen Fullerton in her article, “Trump, Turmoil and Terrorism,” the US government has denied the ability of over 100,000 individuals from entering, returning, or even law-fully remaining in the country. This order caused a great deal of turmoil in airports, shifted thousands of lives, and sparked a “standoff between the executive and judicial branches of the US government.” Despite the absence of any reference to Muslims in the Order, with strict restrictions such as these, citizens are finding this to be a clear act of “discrimination against Muslims.” As of late, the Travel Ban has gone through two more versions and currently targets individuals from Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, North Korea, Venezuela, and Yemen.
Dating back to at least the 1970s, the United States has been issuing new laws and policies, such as the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IRRIRA) of 1996. The targeting of Arab and Muslim non-citizens, and the detainment of illegal immigrants have radically increased under the presumption that they pose as “potential terrorists,” according to the peer-reviewed journal “The Impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Immigrant Health” by Karen Hacker, et al. However, with this recent executive order, Muslims citizens of the US are now dealing with the consequences of such orders.
Muslims are now fearful for how this policy will affect their future, in terms of “employment, business, family relations,” and also the impact these restrictions might have in their society. They are also feeling personally betrayed by their own country, to set such restrictions against their people. With strict measures such as these, Muslims don’t know if it’s truly safe for them travel without the assurance of being accepted back in. Adnan Ahmed, a fellow in Forensic Psychiatry, expressed his concern for the societal effects this ban has caused.
In his article published on the website of the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, Ahmed claims that his ban has made it “socially acceptable” to have citizens of the US “profile” anyone who fits the description of those who are currently banned from entering the country. He explains how it “normalizes the othering of many people without credible evidence that they pose a risk.”
Without directly saying it, this ban, is giving permission to discriminate and stereotype Muslims. Ahmed goes on to describe his personal experience with fitting the stereotypical profile of a Muslim.
Back in 2003, he takes his old Toyota in for some repair work. As the man who fixed his car handed him the keys, he asked him, “[s]o why do you guys hate us?” The man’s question led to a good conversation and eventual friendship, however, Ahmed noticed that the time when people would actually ask questions, respectfully waiting for a decent answer, has passed. He believes that with the new issued Executive Order, people now just make assumptions without getting the chance to understand Muslims.
It has now become “socially acceptable” by ordinary citizens to stereotype and profile those who they deem as un-belonging to this country, leaving manyMuslims, even if they’re native-born citizens, to feel “out of place” Like Ahmed, James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, fears that this Executive Order isn’t making this country safer, rather it’s putting us at a “greater risk.”
In Zogby’s article, “It’s Not Just a Ban, It’s Much Worse” published by the Washington Report on Middle Eastern Affairs organization, Zogby expresses his fears that these restrictions have only “fuel[ed] Islamophobic fear” in the US and is exacerbating “sectarian tensions within the Arab community.”
In a tweet posted by President Trump, he says that this new order is ostensibly designed to “keep our country safe,” meaning that those who are targeted in the ban – majority of which are Muslims are a so-called danger to this country. But is every single Muslim a danger to this country?
In reality, the majority of immigrant Muslims affected by this ban are average people who want to live in America and haven’t actually posed a threat to the US, according to Zogby. To test this theory of the dangers of Arabs, Zogby conducted a pole. Results show that Arabs respect America and are actually drawn to this country out of respect for its tolerance, culture, and promise of democracy. However, after coming into the States in post 9/11, these people no longer feel as welcome as they had hoped.
One respondent from the pole said, “I love America. I just feel that America doesn’t love me.” Many Arab-Muslims share this feeling and it isn’t surprising, when hundreds of Muslims entering this country fall victim to countless hours of interrogation and detention at airports – some are even sent back to their countries, much like this Afghan family of five.
In the article, “An Afghan Family, With Visas in Hand, Is Detained in Los Angeles,” by Nicholas Kulish in the New York Times, upon flying into the Los Angeles International Airport, this Afghan family experienced the problem of airports scrutinizing and detaining Muslims, as they were held there for more than two days. The wife and three children arrived on Special Immigrant Visas, created by Congress for citizens like this family in Iraq and Afghanistan, who’ve helped the U.S. military or government, or any other job that tends to make them targets in their own countries.
Even after receiving approval to move to the U.S. based on their father’s work for the American government, this family of five were still detained. Three days later, a federal judge in L.A. issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the mother and children from being transferred out of the state, until a hearing was made for them on Monday.
The family had to go through multiple levels of security clearance and experienced a panic. The scene became “chaotic” and messy, as described by their pro bono lawyer Lali Madduri, from the law firm Gibson Dunn.
This case is an example of the racial profiling of Muslims and “increased scrutiny at American airports” since President Trump’s inauguration as mentioned in the journal, “Migration Regulation Goes Local” by Susan M. Akram. More specifically, the original Travel Ban executive order, that was issued in January. However, it’s not just this Afghan family who are dealing with such problems, but a large party of documented immigrants as well.
A study consisting of documented and undocumented immigrants with a diverse background has their subjects share their personal and emotional experiences post the passage of the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IRRIRA) of 1996 in the peer-reviewed journal by Karen Hacker, et al. Results show that immigrants are “experiencing heightened fear of profiling and deportation.”
These fears along with not being able to complete the documentation required to apply for insurance and health care are resulting in heightened stress levels. Some of the focus groups members purpose the improvement of “relationships between immigrants and local police,” and “educating immigrants on their rights and responsibilities as residents” because essentially, that’s what they’re here for. To build a foundation in America. To build a life.
The Arab American Association of New York (AAANY), is a non-profit organization that was created in Brooklyn, NY, December 2001 – post 9/11. It was formed by prominent Arab-American Muslims who were immigrants themselves who wanted to create an organization designed to help Arab-American immigrants alike, to integrate into the American community as their needs for help grew.
On Friday, March 23rd, I personally attended one of their of youth programs that occur from 3PM to 5PM, Monday through Friday, and got a chance to interview both the participants in the group and their youth coordinator, Ahmad Jitan. The youth program is designed to help the Arab adolescent youth, like these girls, get involved and be active in the American community and learn about social issues and how to change them, by participating in activities such as joining marches, protesting, or hosting events about issues they care about, such as the war in Yemen.
On Fridays, the youth program shakes up their regular activities and hosts what they call “Women Empowerment Day,” which is usually hosted by a volunteer advocator Nuha, but she wasn’t there that day, so Jitan had his mother come in and help him out.
There were five participants who regularly attend the program, all girls, however, the program is open to boys. For the purposes of anonymity, I’ll continue referring to them as girls. All of the girls just so happened to come from Yemen and share a similar experience in terms of living there and coming back. Most of them travel back and forth from Yemen to America, while having America be their designated home, considering that almost all of them were born in the States. One of the girls expressed to me her love for Yemen and mentioned how it will always hold a special place in her heart, however, despite her love for it, she admits that she can never live there for too long. America is her first home.
Another girl in the group felt differently. She expressed how the community in the US isn’t the same as in Yemen and mentioned that they’re “not as welcoming as Yemenis.” With all that’s going in the States and the current immigration policies set against Muslims, the girls discussed how the atmosphere in America is no longer inviting. With all that’s said, the girls felt privileged to be able to return to the States while conditions worsen in Yemen because of the war.
The girls are currently concerned about family both back in Yemen and immigrants in the US and their ability to stay, with the current immigration policy. They discussed these concerns and some shared their stories in the event, “End the War and Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen” on March 13th, hosted by AANY, Brooklyn for Peace, National Writers Union, and the Arab American Family Support Center. One of the girls in particular felt really moved, as she was tearing up when telling me that at this event as one of the speakers shared her struggle in Yemen and in America. She felt like she could relate.
That’s the beauty of the AAANY, the participants told me. They said they felt like they could finally have a voice and get a chance to be heard. Jitan recognizes that as Arab-American Muslims, especially as women, often times they feel like they don’t “have control,” so he finds it important to teach the youth, our future, about their rights citizens, about everything they can accomplish with democracy. He describes the consequences of events such as the “Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen” as a “ripple effect.” Once people realized that there are others who “care to listen” and can “resonate, there’s power in that.” It helps make them feel proud, and “as a human they felt respected.”
America may have a habit of creating policies and acts that discriminate against specific race-based immigrants, but if history has proven anything, it’s that we’ve been able to knock each pin down, especially through the power of our youth. At the end of his interview, Jitan says that when the “youth are able to be organized, some of the most powerful changes can be created.”
Works Cited
Ahmed, A. (2017). A Ban by Any Other Name. Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 45(3), 348-349.
Fullerton, M. (2017). Trump, Turmoil, and Terrorism: The US Immigration and Refugee Ban. International Journal Of Refugee Law, 29(2), 327-338.
Kulish, Nicholas. “An Afghan Family, With Visas in Hand, Is Detained in Los Angeles.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Mar. 2017,
www.nytimes.com/2017/03/04/us/afghan-family-detained-los-angeles-visas.html.
Orrenius, Pia M., & Zavodny, Madeline. (2012). The Economics of U.S. Immigration Policy. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 31(4), 948-956.
Perazzo, John D. “Restricting Immigration Will Make Americans Safer.” The War on Terrorism,edited by Karen F. Balkin, Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/apps/doc/EJ3010345222/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=OVIC&xid=4b53f710. Accessed 24 Apr. 2018. Originally published as “Illegal Immigration and Terrorism,” www.frontpagemagazine.com, 18 Dec. 2002.
Susan M. Akram, & Kevin R. Johnson. (2002). “MIGRATION REGULATION GOES LOCAL: THE ROLE OF STATES IN U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY”: RACE, CIVIL RIGHTS, AND IMMIGRATION LAW AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: THE TARGETING OF ARABS AND MUSLIMS. New York University Annual Survey of American Law, 58, 295-699.
The impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on immigrant health: Perceptions of immigrants in Everett, Massachusetts, USA.(Report). (2011). Social Science & Medicine, 73(4), 586-594.
Zogby, J. (2017). It’s not just a Muslim ban, it’s much worse. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 36(2), 11.
Zoom, Doktor. “Donald Trump To London: PANIC, YOU JERKS.” Wonkette, 6 June 2017,wonkette.com/618155/donald-trump-to-london-panic-you-jerks.
