Last week President Steven Bahls took a trip to Washington, D.C., in order to meet with members of congress to discuss the impact that the Travel Ban may have on college campuses and legislative actions such as the “Bridge Act”. The members of congress involved in the conversation include, Senators Richard Durbin, Tammy Duckworth, and Congresswoman Cherri Bustos; our state and district representatives.
President Bahls explained that his main concern is that congress “does not understand the depth of pain and fear on our college campuses and I wanted to provide them first hand testimony from our community”.
The first thing on the docket was the recent international travel ban to the United States. The ban that he is talking about, also widely known as the “Muslim ban”, was recently enacted through an executive order by Donald Trump on Friday, January 27th. The countries affected are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. The order essentially prevents citizens from these seven primarily Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days. It also halts the United States’ Syrian refugee system for 120 days. While signed on Friday, dozens of protests sprung up across the nation at airports by Saturday.
Trump stated that the seven countries had been formerly highlighted by the Obama administration as being “countries of concern” for terrorism. Interestingly enough, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon (those involved in previous attacks such as 9/11) are not included in the ban.
Because of the swiftness of the order, there was confusion logistically as to how to implement the new orders. As a result of this, many people, including those currently holding visas and green-cards, were detained at airports for hours while it was all sorted out.
The second issue that President Bahls is concerned with is DACA and the BRIDGE Act. DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, is a governmental program that ensures the safety against deportment for those who were brought here as children (or under the age of 16). Although it does not provide lawful status, it allows the child to defer removal action for a two-year period (provided that the person meets the guidelines and can pay the fee). The BRIDGE Act, or “Bar Removal of Individuals Who Dream of Growing Our Economy”, is proposed legislation that would allow for citizens who are eligible and/or currently receiving DACA relief, to continue living in the U.S. with permission from the Federal Government. This bill was proposed by our Illinois Senator Richard Durbin and his partner Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
During his meeting in D.C., Senator Durbin explained to President Bahls that Democrats are extremely dedicated to the passing of the BRIDGE Act. They will need bipartisan support to push it through; the key is gaining Republican backing. This is no minor task, as President Bahls states, “It is chaotic in Washington, D.C. Nobody knows what is next from President Trump. Neither party seems willing to compromise or develop effective strategies… The parties would rather talk at each other than with each other”.
Through all of this conflict, President Bahls would like to share some advice with us. He suggests that “Students should volunteer for or support groups that seek to redirect public policy. Students should engage in journalism, creative writing, arts and theater to make political statements that reach people in new ways”. We need to be dedicated to changing hearts and changing policy. As President Bahls states, “Your generation needs an all-hands-on-deck approach to build a better country. If those who are politically active stay active, those who cherish diversity, inclusion and equity will prevail.”