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Page 4 News Street Roots Uncertainty, fear plague community after travel ban Immigrants, refugees and advocates express fear and apprehension over the Trump administration's immigration ban and their ability to travel at an ACLU o f Oregon workshop on basic rights BY AMANDA WALDROUPE many of the students she works with are immigrants and refugees and she wanted to learn how to talk to high school students TL y e a rly 40 people gathered in a large about their rights, the ban and their fears. I conference room at Portland State Kelly Simon, an attorney with the ACLU X 1 University’s School of Social Work on Feb. 4, for American Civil Liberties Union of of Oregon, led the presentation and began talking about the executive order. The Oregon’s “Know Your Rights” workshop. evening before the gathering, Feb. 3, James The event was prompted by President Robart, a Federal District Court judge in Donald Trump’s Jan. 27 immigration ban, Seattle, issued a ruling temporarily blocking barring people from seven Muslim-majority enforcement of the executive order in countries - Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, response to a lawsuit filed by Washington’s Sudan, Syria and Yemen - from entering the attorney general. United States for 90 days. As of press time, enforcement of the More than 100,000 visas have been executive order continued ta be blocked, revoked due to the ban. Airports, including while the Trump administration’s appeal Portland International Airport, have been awaits a decision from the Court of Appeals sc e n e s of chaos as p rotestors and pro-bono for the-N in th Circuit.. i..... i nccrrcumsTances oi people traveling have been prevented from traveling and are from the seven countries has changed by instead interrogated. Deep-seated anxiety the day or the hour since the ban was and fear that their families may be torn initially issued. apart and refugees stuck in dangerous Uncertainty around how long the judicial countries could die have spread throughout block would last and what would happen the Muslim community and beyond. next - when or if the Trump administration Some of that anxiety and indignation would file a successful appeal, if airlines permeated the room at the ACLU of would follow the ruling and allow Oregon’s workshop. immigrants and refugees to enter-the Attendees, including Muslim and non- United States - prevented Simon from Muslim people and people who spoke giving attendees direct answers to some of Arabic and English their questions. as their first " I t 's ju st h o rrib le . Even though “Nobody knows languages, came exactly where we Y®» know th a t jo b have some with questions stand,” Simon said at regarding the civil rig h ts as a cltlsea« E re s the one point. “The rights of immigrants people th a t are b ora here may nation-wide stay... and refugees living h a w these rig h ts take» away sounds excellent, it is in Portland, driven fro m them« That Is a scary excellent, but there by a desire to help fe e lin g " are still some people in their questions up in, file. communities TUBA K AYAAR ASi INSTRUCTOR A T IM M IG R A N T A N 6 air. It could be affected by the ban. REFUGEE C O M M U N IT IE S O R G A N IZ A T IO N overturned very A N D IM M IG R A N T FR O M TURKEY A caseworker quickly.” with Catholic She explained, Charities said, “We’re all having to learn a lot very quickly “Many of my residents are really scared. I because things are changing so quicldy.” want to know what to tell them.” One woman asked about the visa status of Two restaurant owners, not saying international students at Portland State whether they employed Muslims or University. undocumented immigrants, came to learn “I think they should be very careful going about the rights of their employees. One anywhere right now,” Simon responded. owner said he noticed anxiety among many “Visas that were revoked have been of his employees. Reinstated, but we don’t know how long that One attorney attended the workshop to would last.” find out how to get involved and help the “They don’t have to give it to you,” Rima people who need help most. Ghandour, a volunteer litigation attorney A manager of a Schools Uniting with the ACLU of Oregon, added. “They can Neighborhoods, or SUN, program at a make it stricter, they can make it harder for Portland high school - she did not want to people.” say which - came to the*workshop because STAFF WRITER A C L U o f Oregon attorney Kelly Sim on embraces an Iranian woman who was one o f the first refugees to arrive a t Portland International A irport after the travel ban was blocked by a federal judge in Seattle. Mexico,” Tuba Kayaarasi, who works as an instructor assistant for the Immigrant and Refugee Communities Organization, asked during the workshop. She is from Turkey, a country not named in the executive order, and she is also a naturalized U.S. citizen. “Should I just not go?” she asked. “The First and Fifth amendments protect me.” She added that shewas, worried because, , while she was" a'citizen, she was not born in ban that had been filed in different cities the U.S. and states, including the federal lawsuit filed “That (naturalized) citizenship can be by the ACLU of Oregon on Feb. 1 arguing, stripped from you,” Simon responded. in part, that people detained at Portland’s “There’s just risk.” airport must have access to legal counsel Simon said Kayaarasi, like all naturalized before being interrogated. citizens, are protected by the Constitution, Simon also spoke about the rights but given the fluid situation around the citizens, naturalized citizens, immigrants executive order and hostility toward people and Muslims have under the Constitution’s . from Muslim-majority countries, Kayaarasi First Amendment, which, in part, prohibits may have to get a lawyer to advocate for the government from establishing or giving . those rights. preference to one religion over others, and “Turkey is 99 percent Muslim,” Kayaarasi the Fifth Amendment, which states that no responded. “There is 1 percent who are person “be deprived of life, liberty, or Armenians and Orthodox Greek. I could say property, without due process of law.” I’m Orthodox Greek,” she said, referencing “The ability ta travel is considered a the part of the executive order allowing liberty,” Simon said. members of minority religions in the seven She also spoke about the Miranda rights, countries, essentially Christians, to travel to which ensure that people have the right to the United States. remain silent when questioned by law Ghandour replied that Kayaarasi probably enforcement and the right tfr legal counsel. would be able to travel without being Simon told the audience that immigrants stopped. But she encouraged Kayaarasi, and “do not hâve to talk to law enforcement,” everyone else in the audience, to not travel and that they do not hâve to provide proof of unless absolutely necessary. their immigration status if they did not have “Just hold off,” Ghandour said. “Unless that documentation with them. She also you have someone dying or an emergency. stated that immigrants, if detained by There is so much misinformation, even at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are customs. You could be caught up in that not required to sign any documents - which confusion and stopped when you shouldn’t could strip them of their rights - and that be.” people are not required to enter the Kayaarasi was near tears when she passcode of their smart phones or other reflected on the fact that she could be electronic devices for inspection. stopped while traveling due to the executive Simon, essentially, reviewed the civil order, even though she is a naturalized rights and liberties many people in the citizen, because she is Muslim. United States consider basic and I felt trapped,” she said. “It’s just fundamental and take for granted - such as horrible.. Even though you know that you the ability to board an airplane and travel have some rights as a citizen. Even the outside the country. “Let’s say I want to go to Tunis or During the workshop, Ghandour interjected more than once to inform the group that KLM airline, followed by an airport in Beirut, Lebanon, had announced they would transport people from the seven countries in the executive order to the U.S., adding to thé sense that the situation could change in any moment. - _ During hep presentation. Simon talked - about the various lawsuits challenging the v See UNCERTAIN, page13
