Feeling safe is one of the most basic of human needs. Protecting our safety is one of the foremost responsibilities of our government. Excluding people who are in need of safety and ostracizing those who are different from the majority of Americans, as President Trump did with his executive order banning citizens from seven countries, goes against everything that our nation stands for and will not make us safer.
The ban was poorly and hastily written, making it overbroad in the extreme. While it has since been clarified that green card holders are not included in the ban, they were initially. Green card holders are already thoroughly vetted before obtaining their green card. They are the wives, daughters, mothers, brothers, fathers and husbands of American citizens. They are an integral part of our American family. People affected by the ban include visa holders who are scientists, doctors and medical students who are contributing to our economy and working to build a safer, healthier future for all of us. They had already been vetted prior to obtaining their visas.
We are a country founded by immigrants that has been enriched by the flow of peoples from around the world since our inception. We have stood as a beacon of hope to those trying to escape desperate circumstances, and it is my hope we will continue to do so.
Linsey Krantz Hsieh
Cottonwood Heights