Travel ban prevents Iranian Aggies from returning home

Amir Malakooti graduates with his master’s degree in May. Like many, he hoped to celebrate the occasion by inviting his family to commencement.

But Malakooti’s family can’t come to his graduation because he’s from Iran, one of seven countries impacted by the travel ban signed by President Trump last Friday. In fact, Malakooti can’t leave the United States to visit his family for fear that he’ll be barred from returning.

“I cannot go back home anymore for five years,” he says. “It’s like being imprisoned but not actually being in prison.”

He says the ban caused him to lose faith in the American government.

“I take (the ban)as an insult, personally,” Malakooti says. “I take it as an insult to my family. I take it as an insult to the 1.7 billion Muslims around the world.”

Keaton Smoot, a member of the USU Republicans, says the travel ban is a complicated and emotional issue, but not it’s not a personal attack on Muslims. He says he supports the temporary ban because it’s an issue of national security.

Smoot says by locking radical Muslims — like ISIS — out of the country is a matter of safety. It’s similar to locking the front door at night. If the U.S. doesn’t take care of the root of the terrorism problem, it could continue to spiral out of control, he says.

“That’s what we don’t want to happen,” he says.

But Malakooti says banning everyone from coming to the country isn’t solving the problem. Instead, it’s fanning the extremist, anti-American attitudes.

“The extremists want to show that there’s a war against Islam,” he says. “This executive order is a gift to the extremists to say that America is confronting Islam.”

Trump isn’t trying to single out Muslims, instead he’s paving the way to get the visa program organized, Smoot says. He says the ultimate goal is to build up the refugee countries to the point where the citizens can live there safely.

Regardless, Muslims and non-Muslims are caught in the travel ban, including Amir Hossein, a computer science master’s student who is also from Iran.

“I’m not a Muslim, but I am from Iran but still I’m banned from traveling back to my country and my parents are banned,” he says.

Smoot pointed out that President Obama also took measures to keep the country safe by barring refugees from entering the country, says Shoot. Obama only took in a few dozen refugees from Syria for a few years.

“But he didn’t really take the heat that President Trump did,” he said. “That’s obviously because of the media bias and the attack that President Trump is receiving right now.”

He says the temporary ban probably won’t have a big impact, especially years down the road.

Hossein disagrees.

“It affects me,” he says. “It affects me personally.”

He says his future is now up in the air thanks to the travel ban (including his plans to see his sister who he hasn’t seen in several years). He initially moved to America to work for big technical companies.

“Now that this happened, although it’s temporary, we don’t’ know what will happen in the next few years,” he says.

Ashley Stevens, a USU Republican, also agrees with the ban. She served her mission in France during many of the terrorist attacks. She was able to see both sides of the conflict: how France mourned after the terrorist attacks and the refugees who entered the country war-torn.

“Not all of them are terrorists,” she says. “But you never know who is.”

Stevens says the refugee crisis is a humanitarian crisis, but American safety is more important.

“There are other countries they can go to with just as many resources and opportunities,” she said. “Maybe I’m a terrible person.”

Stevens says, the people coming from the countries impacted by the ban “grew up in a place of hatred.”

“That is something that was put onto them since they were little,” she says. “I can tell you right now that doesn’t change by taking them out of the country.

Stevens is empathetic toward the refugees already living in America, because as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she’s encouraged by her religious leaders to support refugees.

“Support them, help them, teach them,” she says.

Life goes one despite the ban, says Malakooti. He will work toward his Ph.D. and wait for the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Maybe there will be a new administration, and doctorate degrees take at least four years,” he said.

Though, he says, thanks to the ban, he’s not sure if his time in America has been worthwhile.

“I have hope, of course,” he says. “But it gets less and less every day.” 

— morgan.pratt.robinson@gmail.com

@morganprobinson