In a small cafe in Western New York I overheard a conversation that exemplified why I care about immigration issues. Three men sat in the early hours of the morning drinking coffee together, as they do every weekend: two locals, and one Asian-American man.
Together they laughed, discussed Trump’s election, and their excitement over his recent decisions regarding immigration. “Trump’s gonna make America great again!” one man exclaimed, as they chuckled together. But then he paused, and turned to his Asian-American friend, “Are you gonna be okay? You know, with all this immigration stuff?” He was in support of large-scale immigration reforms, but when it came to his friend? He was worried. He cared because he had a relationship, and while it might not have changed his personal opinion, it certainly affected me.
His Asian-American friend is safe from the immigration reforms suggested by the Trump administration, but many refugees from around the world are not. Immigration from seven countries (Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen) have been severely restricted for the next 120 days, giving the administration time to create a stricter vetting program for immigrants from those countries, with a ban on Syrian refugees indefinitely. The decision was made in response to the threat from Fundamentalist Islamic Terrorist groups like ISIL, which operate in majority-Muslim countries.
Starting the week after the executive order, I have been and will continue to protest this decision. From a purely humanitarian perspective, banning refugees from Syria indefinitely is a travesty of justice. As 11 million refugees fled from life-threatening conflict, they found themselves on foreign shores seeking asylum. It then became the responsibility of the free nations of the world to aid them.
With the introduction of the executive order, I believe it also became my responsibility to protest the ban. To march for the thousands of people whose lives will be turned upside down, and may never recover. I march to show solidarity to these people. Every march I have attended thus far has had refugees from the countries on the list in attendance as well. They spoke passionately, thanked us for joining them in protest, and mourned with us over the decision. This form of mass solidarity is powerful, and many people who came up to speak left the stage with tears in their eyes, emotional at the display of camaraderie. It helped me to understand those truly being affected by the ban, not militant warriors, but women and children, students and parents, simply trying to find a place to live.
According to Quartz, as of 2016, the US accepted 14,333 refugees from Syria. Due to the nature of this already long and difficult process, that number wasn’t likely to rise quickly. With the recent executive order, this number will likely shrink, as green cards and asylums are revoked, and Syrian refugees are detained and put on planes out of the United States.
But if the decision would really protect American citizens from terrorist attacks, I would at least consider supporting it. The statistics surrounding Syrian refugees (and, in fact, refugees from all seven countries) however, do not support this. As of right now, there have been zero Americans killed by terrorists from any of the countries listed on the temporary ban, with most attacks on American citizens coming from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Lebanon, none of which have been included in the ban.
Despite all this, refugees from Syria have been labelled as dangerous, and are being turned away from seeking asylum in the United States. The decision has been made regardless of the fact that most refugees from Syria are women and children, who would otherwise be resigned to live difficult lives in refugee camps, with limited resources and opportunities for their families.
So why do I march for refugees? I march because I believe that the United States has a responsibility to the suffering people of Syria, and to other countries being most affected by the refugee crisis. I believe that everyone has a right to safety, and to a legitimate process for seeking asylum in what has sometimes been the immigrant capital of the world. Most of all, I march because I understand that the refugee crisis is a human one, and that immigrants – like the gentleman in the cafe – can join the American community, form relationships and add to the beauty of our country. I march because refugees make America great.