Last week, the US government announced a travel ban that will fully or partially prevent entry of individuals from 19 countries, including Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. This does not strengthen our nation’s security. Rather, it weakens the United States’ moral standing in the world by yielding to xenophobia and racial discrimination. It is a direct attack on the dignity and lives of people seeking a better future for themselves and their families.
This ban is just one of the ways the Federal government is sowing fear and distrust in immigrant communities across the country. In Los Angeles, the military has been deployed in response to largely peaceful protests in an egregious act of federal overreach. In Minneapolis, an immigration raid upended an entire neighborhood with what state leaders called a “chaotic and unjustified” show of force. These acts further erode trust in the US government and reinforce the false and dehumanizing message that immigrants are threats rather than neighbors.
Every day, the Arab American Family Support Center works with immigrants who, going through the legal immigration process, have already been vetted extensively and paid thousands of dollars in legal fees in the hopes of securing a better future for themselves and their families. Now, their efforts—and their lives—are upended with no avenue for recourse. Fear, confusion, and heartbreak are rippling through our communities.
Sadly, we saw this in 2017, when a series of travel bans—the so-called Muslim Ban—sent a chilling message to immigrants in our community: you do not belong here. Now, history is repeating itself.
For over 30 years, AAFSC has fought for the dignity, safety, and belonging of immigrants and refugees. We urge elected officials and our supporters to take a stand and show up for justice, for belonging, and for your neighbors.