Immigration issues under Trump: travel ban and DACA

During Donald Trump’s campaign, he promised to crackdown on immigration. Since taking office, the president has signed executive orders to ban travel between Muslim-majority countries and the US, and to end a program to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Trump’s latest travel ban affects eight countries: North Korea, Iran, Chad, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Venezuela. Many courts have ruled against the earlier travel bans, but so far the Supreme Court has allowed this one to stand.

“My family has many things in Somalia, it’s very hard because I’m far away and it’s difficult to adapt to this country,” said recent immigrant Shayma Guaid.

She is not the only only one who is suffering from the effects of executive orders.

Trump ordered an end to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created under former President Obama in October. DACA protected young undocumented individuals known as the Dreamers, who have no legal way to get citizenship or legal residence.

Trump’s decision led to an outcry among the immigrant population, especially the Latino community.

“We lived here for a really long time, we went to school here, we have friends here, we grew up here. We consider ourselves to be Americans and if DACA is gone then we might be gone,” said a junior and undocumented immigrant, who asked to remain anonymous. “It scares me, and it’s not just me. My cousins are scared. My friends are scared.”

Many are split in the matters of the travel bans and the end of DACA. Some see these decisions as just while others label them as cruel and cowardly actions which will negatively affect our economy.