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
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