The three person panel on immigration came at a valuable time for many others and me to comprehend the nuances behind president trump’s executive order. The most illuminating member of the board was longtime professor of law, Steve Millerman. He began by explaining what had actually happened, saying on jan 25 3 there were multiple executive orders. The travel ban exec order, which prohibited people from 7 countries for 90 days from entering the country. A ban on travel from Syria, and a 120 day refugee ban – which is currently on hold. He then asked the question: what does this hold mean? Apparently, he said, it will take a couple of weeks for the federal district court to make a decision. Trump is not so resolute about what he will do with the executive order, whether he will revise the order, or maybe scrap it altogether. Historically, Donald Trump has been known to make a fast decision, and if it doesn’t work out, instead of finessing in order to fix the problem, he is more likely to scrap the idea and start something new. This method has been a large factor in his success as a businessman and entrepreneur.

The ban is a symptom so so-called islamaphobia, which has been developing over the past decade in the United States. Such factors as the ‘united states of jihad’ (which describes American citizens who convert to terrorism) scare Americans into xenophobic practices. But, most often, these fears are quite unfounded. Opponents of refugee bans site may statistics, but one which is especially potent is the fact that no refugees from primarily islamic countries have ever committed acts of terrorism on the U.S. mainland. Trump claims to want to defeat ISIS, however, if trump truly wants to defeat ISIS, then he has to partner with some of the islamic states. The United States cannot defeat an enemy when, in the region in which it is fighting, Americans are viewed as the enemy as well.

On a positive note, however, the robust reaction from the united states civil society and academia is very promising, showing that not all Americans believe in the changes that are happening with these controversial policies.