DOMINIC'S POLITICS: Let them in

Dominic Bordenaro is a freshman political science major and writes "Dominic's Politics" for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Dominic at dabordenaro@bsu.edu.

Dominic Bordenaro

Imagine this: This morning you woke up as usual, with your usual routine and such. You were going to fly to another country. You had already been approved, and they let you on the plane. You make the long trip. It was a nice ride and you even became friends with the person seated next to you. Once you land, a sense of dread falls upon you as you are immediately detained.

You are not allowed to enter the country.

That is how hundreds of innocent people felt as they, many with green cards, were detained in international airports across the country over the last few days after Trump signed executive orders prohibiting refugees and immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

That poem is inscribed on our Statue of Liberty, a symbol of great American pride. The pride of inclusion, helpfulness and love.

Trump signed an order making the meaning of that statue pointless and irrelevant.

This order was the most un-American thing to take place in my lifetime.

What we have said is we are no longer the land of opportunity, the land for a fresh-start, a land of equality and love and kindness. We are a land of hate. A land willing to discriminate against an entire religion based off of false fears.

The facts are clear, though the Trump administration would have you think otherwise. Zero refugees from the countries listed in Trump’s executive orders have committed a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. Zero. Toddlers kill more people than that.

Just looking at images of the situation these refugees are trying to escape, especially from Syria, is sickening. The least we could do is take in some of these people that just want to live. Life. We are taking away lives. So much for “pro-life."

Fifteen thousand Somalis are stuck in the world's largest refugee program, waking up one day to discover they are no longer going to be allowed into the United States, even though they are trying to escape a war-torn and failing country.

This is wrong. This is immoral. This is disgusting.

We have so much privilege in this country, every one of us. We should be helping those that need us the most.

These people, the beautiful, peaceful people we have blocked, need us the most. They need us now.

In times of crisis, we tend to point fingers at others and accuse many. Hatred is smart, and right now it is outsmarting us. It is dividing us.

These refugees just want to live a happy life like the rest of us. We cannot accept hate.

We need to stop being un-American and let them in. 

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