For 80 Mississippi State University students, President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel for natives of seven Muslim countries is a short-term ban that could have long-term consequences.
“We’re in shock,” said Ashkan Khalili, a student from Iran who is set to earn his doctorate in aerospace engineering this spring. “We don’t know what this means. Do we stay? If we do, then what? Do we go back? If we do, will we be allowed to return? Even the immigration attorneys don’t know the answers. It’s just confusion.”
On Friday, Trump announced that citizens of seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia — would not be allowed to travel into the United States for a period of 90 to 120 days. It was a move that has sparked a firestorm of protests at airports across the country, where some people unaware of the order were detained. It’s also inspired a flurry of lawsuits.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates instructed her staff not to prosecute the order on Monday and was fired by Trump hours later. Meanwhile, attorneys general in 16 states vowed to fight the ban, which they believe is unconstitutional because it targets people for their religious beliefs.
Caught up in the controversy are the 80 MSU students, most of them enrolled in the university’s doctoral programs in engineering.
“We have students from six of the seven countries on the list,” said Rani Warsi Sullivan, a native of India who serves as the faculty representative for MSU’s Muslim Student Association. “The only country we don’t have a student from is Somalia.”
There are also 14 faculty members who are natives of the affected nations.
Student reactions
Of the student group, 40 are Iranian. Among those, 24 agreed to discuss their reactions to the ban with The Dispatch Monday in the Colvard Student Union.
“We started hearing that something was going to happen Wednesday,” said Pedram Gharghabi. “Word spread pretty fast. When (the ban) was announced Friday, we couldn’t believe it.”
“The past week feels like a month,” said Masha Abbaszadeh. “It’s not easy for us to be here. It takes months to get a visa, make plans, leave our families and travel. We’re the ones who are studying until midnight every night. And now this. The stress we’re feeling over this is real.”
Of the 24 students who gathered at the student union, three said they expect to complete their studies by the time the ban is lifted. Another student said she had lost a job offer because her prospective employer was concerned about her status.
“What is temporary to some people isn’t temporary for many of us,” said Gharghabi. “Almost all of us are here with one-way visas. That means if we go back to Iran to visit our families, we may not be allowed to return. Even under the best situation, it might have taken months to get another visa. We don’t have an American Embassy in Iran, so that means we have to go to another country to apply for an American visa. So, it’s always been easier for our families to come visit us while we are here. Now, our families can’t visit.”
Of the group, all 24 students said they had intended to stay in the U.S. and get jobs upon completion of their studies. Now, they say, a temporary ban could have long-term consequences.
“It’s bad for us, but it is also bad for American companies,” Abbaszadeh said. “Now, some of the best students from these countries will go to other countries for work.”
“We all chose to come here, to the United States. Why? The American Dream,” Khalili said. “We believe in America. Now, we don’t know what to believe.”
For Vahid Daghigh, the uncertainty over his status came not long after his arrival.
“I got here in July,” he said. “I came here because I believed America was and always will be the greatest country because it is based on science, reason and conscience. Now, I’m thinking, ‘Is this executive order based on science, reason or conscience?’ I don’t know the answer.”
“A lot of us would not have come if we had known this was going to happen,” Gharghabi added. “This is five years of our lives, a big commitment.”
Sullivan said the Muslim students from all countries are asking similar question.
“America has been a beacon of hope for as long as we can remember,” Sullivan said. “So, the general feeling now is that they have been shaken and the trust has been shaken.”
Keenum weighs in
MSU President Mark Keenum was in Jackson Monday but released a statement on the ban through MSU’s Office of Public Affairs. His statement stopped well short of calling for the ban to be lifted, but it expressed support for students affected by the order.
“As I have stated on numerous occasions, MSU’s core values of diversity, inclusion, tolerance, and safety for all — regardless their country of origin — do not waver or change,” Keenum’s statement read. “The recent Presidential Executive Orders impacting immigrant and non-immigrant visa holders from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen and suspending refugee admissions have created uncertainty and anxiety among valued members of our university community — as across the nation.
MSU is taking appropriate steps to support and assist our international students, faculty, staff and researchers as these issues evolve,” it continued. “We expect more clarity to come as these issues are more fully considered. The MSU administration is closely monitoring these matters to see how our university community is impacted — and we will provide appropriate assistance for impacted MSU community members.”
While Mississippi University for Women in Columbus has no students among its Muslim population from the affected countries, MUW President Jim Borsig also issued a statement expressing concern for the university’s Muslim students who may feel targeted because of their religious beliefs.
“For well over 50 years The W has welcomed international students as members of this university community,” Borsig wrote in his statement. “While The W does not currently enroll students from the seven countries named in the January 27, 2017, executive order, we remain committed to embracing the diversity of thought, cultural background, experience, and identity to foster an inclusive and intellectually enriched university community.”
Vigil scheduled
A pair of MSU veterinarian school students have organized a vigil to be held from 6-7 p.m. Wednesday at The Junction on the MSU campus to show support for the students affected by the ban.
Katie Graham and Ann Walker organized the vigil through Facebook.
“We’re part of a group called Starkville Move Forward,” Graham said. “Ann and I were talking about what had happened and the idea for the vigil just grew out of that. We’ve had about 60 people say they were going to attend. Hopefully, we’ll have a lot more than that. ”
As difficult as the last week has been for the students, it’s been even harder for family members back in Iran, Abbaszadeh said.
“Moms,” she said. “It’s hardest on them. Moms are the same everywhere, you know.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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