Chicago Tribune | Trump immigration policy changes put some on edge

As someone who works in an agency that helps refugees settle in the United States, Susan Sperry is accustomed to adapting to changes brought about by new policies or funding issues.

“We are used to the ebbs and flows of refugee arrivals every year,” Sperry, of the Aurora and DuPage offices of World Relief, said via email. “But this sudden, dramatic change is a shock to the service provision network and is impacting World Relief.”

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday that he said would establish “new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.” According to the order, Trump would move to stop accepting Syrian refugees indefinitely. The order also calls for a pause in the nation’s broader refugee program for at least 120 days and for suspending the issuance of visas for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days.

Sperry, speaking before the draft was signed Friday, said her organization remains committed to the refugees it is serving. She believes the order likely would keep apart those who have arrived in the United States but are still waiting for some family members to complete the resettlement process. In Aurora, between 60 and 65 percent of the refugees that World Relief resettles join family or friends when they arrive, she said.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday that he said would establish “new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.” According to the order, Trump would move to stop accepting Syrian refugees indefinitely. The order also calls for a pause in the nation’s broader refugee program for at least 120 days and for suspending the issuance of visas for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days.

Sperry, speaking before the draft was signed Friday, said her organization remains committed to the refugees it is serving. She believes the order likely would keep apart those who have arrived in the United States but are still waiting for some family members to complete the resettlement process. In Aurora, between 60 and 65 percent of the refugees that World Relief resettles join family or friends when they arrive, she said.

“That’s going to cause considerable anxiety and stress and pain for the people who are separated,” she said.

But Ryan Schuring, an Elgin native and senior at North Central College in Naperville, stands by the president’s position on immigration because he said he has seen the challenges other countries have faced.

Schuring — who is studying finance, economics, management and German — said he studied abroad in Germany in 2015 when Syrian refugees were fleeing in mass numbers to Europe.

In addition to his experience in Germany, he said he saw many refugees sleeping in the streets in Salzburg, Austria, and in Belgium, where the Red Cross set up tent camps.

Based on his experience, Schuring also disputes reports that most asylum seekers are women and children.

“I did not see a lot of families in train stations,” he said. “It was mostly men my age or in their 40s.”

But Shoaib Khadri, president of the Islamic Center of Naperville, stresses that this is a time for people to challenge their assumptions, ask questions and “step outside their bubble” to learn about different cultures instead of being fearful.

“When you hear something negative about the group, try to get to the source,” Khadri said. “If every American who heard something bad about Islam went to a nearby mosque to ask questions, there would be no credibility to the anti-Muslim rhetoric.”

The rhetoric Trump is using in his official capacity as president validates anti-Muslim thoughts, Khadri said. Learning about a different religion or culture can often put an end to rumors or preconceived notions, said Khadri, who welcomes people to learn more by visiting the Islamic Center of Naperville.

“It is unfair to target an entire population of people as dangerous when potential risks are mitigated to a great extent by Homeland Security,” Khadri said. “We care about the safety and security of this country as much as anyone else. This is where we live and where our kids live. This is our home.”

Earlier in the week, Trump also moved to jump-start construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and cut federal grants for “sanctuary cities,” such as Chicago.

Those moves, which were part of his campaign platform, have some people in the Hispanic community on edge, said Jaimie Garcia, executive director of Elgin-based Centro de Informacion.

“We get people saying there is no point of worrying and we have to wait to see what happens,” Garcia said. “We have other people who have gone out and gotten ready to be deported, closing accounts and figuring out what to take back to their country.”

And people who have a legal permit to be in the United States want information about becoming a citizen, Garcia said.

Overall, “people are very, very concerned,” he said. “They are actually scared.”

Centro is working on developing a series teaching immigrants living in the U.S. illegally what rights they have, he said. Some changes can be made by the president, for instance, while other policies must go through Congress and the Senate, Garcia said.

“It could be a matter of a week, it could be a matter of months before anything happens,” he said. “We just tell them to wait and be careful.”

Adrienne Holloway, chairwoman of the Aurora Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board, said the group has not met specifically on these measures and is not sure what the moves would mean for residents of Aurora.

“What we’re experiencing now is a president who’s trying to make good on campaign promises through executive orders. However, we really don’t know the extent or the ability for these executive orders to be fulfilled,” she said.

The board is working with other organizations and representatives of Aurora’s black and Indian communities to bring residents together and to provide information so people know where to turn with questions or concerns, she said. They are hoping to hold an event designed to meet those goals in the coming month.

Meanwhile, supporters of Trump’s policies say the changes are not the result of a lack of compassion. As president of North Central College’s Student Government Association and vice president of the College Republicans, Schuring often is asked to defend his viewpoint.

“Once I sit down and explain my reasoning, they understand,” Schuring said.

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