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Check our weekly content, provided by our wonderful mentorees! In preparation for each event, our contributors will be providing multimedia and information that they consider relevant to the issue at hand.
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Monday, February 6: President Trump’s immigration ban
Rosie Moss’ collection of articles demonstrating different sides of the immigration ban argument.
In this article, the Editorial Board of The New York Times labels President Trump’s executive order to ban immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries as not only illogical and unconstitutional, but also dangerous. They make the argument that by excluding Muslim-majority countries, Mr. Trump sets the precedent of targeting Islam rather than terrorism. This policy alienates Muslims living in the United States and creates animosity towards the United States for those living in the seven banned countries.
This article shares the story of Dania Albaba, a Muslim U.S. citizen, whose family was barred from being together as a result of President Trump’s ban on immigration into the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. After many years of living in Syria, a violent and dangerous country, Albaba’s family had finally found a home in the United States. She is devastated that some of her family members are no longer able to enter the country and that she and her family are being targeted in the very place they believed would bring them freedom.
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This article gives the perspectives of several world leaders on Mr. Trump’s temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. The leaders of the countries on Mr. Trump’s banned list who shared their opinions all express both shock and disappointment at such an exclusionary policy. The leaders from European allies voice disapproval at the policy, and most emphasize the importance of welcoming refugees. Other world leaders convey strong criticism of the executive order, though some leaders on the far-right in Europe are proud to support it.
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Kris Ahn’s topical podcast recommendation
This week, I want to share an episode of This American Life, titled “Will I Know Anyone at This Party?” In it, Ira Glass and Zoe Chace discuss the shift that the Republican Party is undergoing, from “traditionally” Republican values, like free trade and smaller government, to a party that now seems to be zeroed in on one issue: immigration. Glass and Chace show through the episode how some voters seem to be more and more driven by racial resentment. They focus in on how certain communities of St. Cloud, Minnesota reacted to a growth in the Minnesotan Somali population, which consisted- as importantly noted several times in the episode- of legal immigrants. This episode shows why some people hold biases against Muslim people and indirectly asks what can be done to stop the unsubstantiated feelings that people have.
It’s worth noting that this episode was produced pre-election and pre-ban by a liberal podcast, but presents both sides fairly. Glass and Chace report in a way that breeds understanding on a very divisive issue, presenting their arguments respectfully to those who disagree and presenting other’s arguments truthfully. The subject of the severe separation in the Republican Party due to the topic of immigration is more than timely, with Trump choosing to fire his first acting attorney general for speaking out against the immigration ban. I encourage everyone to give it a listen!
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