I know a lot of you are thinking about how to respond to Trump’s latest EO – here are some of my thoughts and messaging suggestions:
1. Share our stories, not just broad value statement. It’s awesome to see so many organizations putting out statements in solidarity. The majority I’ve seen talk about how this is anti-American and talk about impacted communities in the abstract. I know this is not intentional – but the impact of that is that it doesn’t talk about our experiences as people. The right is dehumanizing us right now, which is unbelievably terrifying, and one of the best ways to push back is by highlighting that we’re human through telling our stories. Here are some ways you can do this:
Make sure your statements of solidarity highlight what the bans mean in people’s lives: splitting up families, leaving people who were on holidays stranded, robbing students of education, threatening the jobs of people who need to travel for work – all because of something they have no control over – where they were born. i.e.: instead of ‘The ban is an affront to American values’ switch to ‘The ban means splitting up families, robbing students of education and potentially stripping people who’ve lived in America for years of permanent residency simply based on where they were born. That’s an affront to American values.’
Specific stories:
Here’s mine: I’m an Australian Citizen and Green card holder. It’s been made clear to me that I should not travel outside of the US because there’s no guarantee I can return. I’m also 6 months pregnant – last week I bought my mum a ticket so she could be here when our baby was born. She’s also an Australian Citizen and already has a US Visa. Now – we don’t know if she’ll be able to meet her grandchild.
Roozbeh Aliabadi – A US Citizen, his wife is in Iran and because of the ban she can’t get into the US to be with her husband, and he can’t visit her or else he can’t return to the US.
Here are a few more examples I’ve grabbed from Twitter:
2. This attack is targeted at Muslims–but impacts people of many faiths based solely on national origin. By using terms like ‘Muslim majority countries’ we’re also playing into stereotypes, instead talk about how this is an attack on Muslims that will impact people of all different backgrounds. The countries on the ban list aren’t monolithic – they have diverse traditions with Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, Atheists etc. In short, an Iranian Jew will face similar challenges as an Iranian Muslim in getting to the US right now.
3. This isn’t an introduction of extreme vetting – this is a ban and discrimination. The people from these countries have been going through ‘extreme vetting’ for years. For many people with passports from those countries it can often take years to get visas. For people born in those countries with other passports from the EU and other visa-waiver extreme vetting often already looks like a mandatory interview and ‘random’ or secondary searches at ports of entry to the US.
4. There are already reports of cases where green card holders were either not allowed to board flights or deported after arriving in the US. The terrifying thing is because of the ambiguity in the language of EO in relation to permanent residents and dual nationals the ability to enter the US by people who were born in the banned countries is totally at the discretion of the customs officer. This would mean that the EO is effectively stripping people of their permanent residency because of where they were born. (Also more here) Imagine living in the US for decades as a permanent resident, making a life here, and all that being torn away from you because you go on a work trip to Canada.
5. Please don’t use Trump’s framing in statements – this is what white supremacy looks like – it is not about stopping terrorism or keeping us safe (even if you’re trying to point out that this could make us less safe which is true, that’s still in an unhelpful frame.) Over the last seven days the majority of Trump’s EO’s/comments have been directed at people of color:
The gag order which means a disproportionate number of women of color won’t be able to access reproductive services or information.
The keystone pipeline that would pillage sacred native American land.
The order to build a wall and the new edict around sharing crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
The ban on Syrian refugees and the halt in processing all other refugees.
The ‘muslim ban’ that discriminates against people based on where they were born.
The threat to send the feds into largely Black and Latino neighborhoods in Chicago to restore ‘order.’
6. Potential actions to consider:
Creating legal funds to support impacted communities and supporting the ACLU, and other legal defense organizations.
Ensuring Democrats know that vote in support of Trump’s Secretary of State nominee (and other officials) is a vote for the ban. Creating more sanctuary sites (ie turning community centers etc into sanctuary sites.)
Encouraging major events to not be held in the US given that people of color won’t be afforded the same rights when entering and any person of color is likely to go through significantly more harassment at airports.
Supporting the boycotts that are already happening around traveling to the US and attending the Oscars and other high profile events.
Encouraging business/cafes/members to put up signs that show solidarity with the impacted communities.
Feel free to reach out if you have questions, ideas, want to talk etc.
Thanks to all of you who are already standing strong against this –
S.
PS – I’ll be okay, I have a lot of privilege in this situation compared to others. I’m keen to help organize and push back on this, so feel free to reach out with collaboration suggestions.
