Thank you for what you said.
By: Andrew Ameer
Opinions Editor
Since taking office not very long ago, President Donald Trump has been busy making good on many of his campaign promises, much to the dismay of many, myself in cluded.
His recent executive order sent shockwaves through the world as he unilaterally banned travel to the U.S. from seven Middle Eastern countries, with no direct ties to terrorism within the United States, under the veil of making the US safer.
Here’s just a few problems this represents.
In the order, Trump lists the horrific acts of 9/11 as one of the justifications for the ban, yet the countries which the perpetrators came from were not included in the ban.
The act sent airports across the nation into disarray, with airlines having to redirect because their flight attendants and pilots were no longer allowed to land in the U.S.
Families were taken into custody by customs officials while volunteer lawyers worked to secure their release.
I couldn’t imagine being in that situation, waiting for a family member at the airport who never came out because they were being detained with an uncertian release date.
We are a nation of immigrants, and the fear the president is whipping up about immigrants is a shame.
Look back at your own family tree; how far back do you have to go until you find someone who immigrated? For me, I only need to go back a few generations, my great-great grandparents emigrated from Palermo, Sicily in the early 1900s.
Trump himself is married to an immigrant.
But there are signs of hope.
Protests erupted at airports across the US, many US politicians came forward to condemn the ban, including members of the President’s own party.
The Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, stood up to the ban saying she would not defend it in court and consequently lost her job.
Yates is a role model for every public servant in this country who took an oath to defend the constitution, and I hope that her actions inspire others to act with integrity, stand up for what is right, and for what they believe in.
Thank you, Sally Yates.
