CHICAGO (WLS) — People in Chicago are reacting to President Donald Trump’s new travel ban affecting 12 countries.
There are restrictions on other countries, too.
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President Trump has said this is about safety.
The ban took effect overnight, and is already causing confusion and issues for some people.
The countries listed on the ban have populations that are predominantly people of color.
Some at O’Hare Monday morning have families abroad. They said they’d be devastated if they could not see their loved ones.
“My wife or my kids is here. I’m from Eritrea. I came from Eritrea. If they’re telling me to ban me, that’s not really fair,” Mesfil Wrdofa said.
Wrdofa hails from Ethiopia but he empathizes with the situation of individuals from Eritrea. Eritrea is among the twelve nations currently facing a ban on entry into the United States.
“It’s kind of prejudice to me. That’s what I can say,” Wrdofa said.
The travel ban is felt by anyone who knows what it’s like to have loved ones overseas.
“I wouldn’t want my family to be stuck,” said Calvin Jackson, who has family in Liberia. “I think generalization is always not a good thing.”
Although Jackson’s family does not originate from any of the countries specified in President Trump’s travel restriction, he believes that America serves as a model for the global community.
The concern is that if other countries perceive America as making misguided decisions, it may lead to a ripple effect where they too may act in ways that are not conducive to achieving stability and order in the world, resulting in a state of disarray due to the absence of effective leadership, as expressed by Jackson.
The ban announced Wednesday applies to people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It’s also putting on restrictions for people in places like Cuba and Venezuela, who are outside the United States and don’t hold a visa.
President Trump has claimed this is to protect the national security and national interest of the country, but others say the move goes too far.
“If there’s a genuine national security reason, I think it should be explicit, instead of just doing it and just be ambiguous and saying it’s for national security reasons,” Jackson said.
The ban will not only impact people coming from those countries, but adoptions, as well, as many international travelers are pleading for the government to take it back.
“I’m just appealing to them to reaching the decision because I don’t think it’s a good thing,” Jackson said.
Several refugee organizations are already preparing to push back on the ban with legal action.
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