I attended the Immigration Policy Panel Discussion: Understanding President Trump’s Executive Order. The panel consisted of Steve Yale-Loehr (adjunct professor at the Cornell Law School), Brendan O’Brien (director of Cornell’s International Student and Scholars Office), and Raza Rumi (a Pakistani author and visiting lecturer at CIPA). The panelists discussed the Executive Orders issued by President Trump, and what they could mean for members of the Cornell community, and the nation as a whole.

It was a very interesting and compelling experience to learn about the Executive Orders and hear the panel give their professional and personal opinions regarding them.  The media has and will continue to play a large role in how we receive our information, and as the panelists told the audience, it is so important to separate the rumors from the facts.  While it was clear where the panelists stood in regards to the Executive Orders, it appeared to me that the panelists’ goal was more about presenting the facts and informing the audience about the implications and addressing the what-ifs rather than addressing the politics.  Which is not to say that politics did and does not play a role, but today’s discussion was about the people, both those who are directly affected and those who are determined to stand with them.

The panelists themselves mentioned multiple times that they could not give definitive answers to some of the questions (which they noted is why there is so much concern and confusion).  Ultimately, the “take-home message” was about remembering that we all have rights, and understanding what they are (and frankly, remembering the fact that we have them). Perhaps the most impactful part of the discussion for me was hearing the fellow members of the Cornell community ask questions and voice their concerns.  Seeing how the people of Cornell rally and support each other was a very heartening experience, one that I hope to continue to have throughout my time here at the university.