This Momma Bear’s Cubs: The March for Refugees and Immigrants

In what seems like a small lifetime since the Women’s March on Washington, I laced up my shoes, grabbed my “Hate Has No Home Here” sign, and headed downtown to protest the latest assault on democracy. On Friday, January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order that temporarily banned approximately 218 million people from entering the United States for a period of 90 days. If his order stands, America is (and will) no longer be accepting people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. In the name of counterterrorism, vetted refugees, green card holders (on order from Steve Bannon), and peaceful people have been banned from entering the land of the free and home of the brave. [gallery ids="https://www.diplomaticourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_7066.jpg|,https://www.diplomaticourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_7073.jpg|,https://www.diplomaticourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_7075.jpg|,https://www.diplomaticourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_7081.jpg|,https://www.diplomaticourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_7086.jpg|,https://www.diplomaticourier.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_7088.jpg|"] President Trump wants to have a “very, very strict ban, and we’re going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years” to protect our great nation. This is an opportune moment to review exactly what is in place. For a refugee to enter the U.S., they must undergo 18-24 months of review involving the National Counterterrorism Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Center, and the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and State, plus a few others. The refugee is first registered with the United Nations, then interviewed by the United Nations who will determine if the person gets refugee status. Less than 1% of refugees in the world are recommended for resettlement in the U.S. and those spend years waiting to hear of their fate. If recommended for resettlement in the U.S., the person will interview with the State Department and undergo two to three background checks and three sets of fingerprinting by the FBI and DHS. Each case is reviewed at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters, and some undergo additional review. Then, the person has an extensive, in-person interview with DHS (DHS approval is necessary to move forward). Next, the person is screened for contagious diseases, takes a cultural orientation class, matched with an American resettlement agency, and has additional multi-agency security checks BEFORE leaving for the U.S. As a final test, the person has a check upon arrival at an American airport. I believe this is what we would consider “extreme vetting.” The defense that this Executive Order is not a #MuslimBan is flimsy at best. Muslims are being actively targeted. Adding insult to injury, this will not prevent terrorism on American soil and instead increases Islamophobia. According to the Washington Post, there have been approximately 35 terrorist attacks in the U.S. including and since September 11, 2001, with the vast majority of attackers coming from Saudi Arabia (not part of the ban). Individuals with ties to Pakistan have been involved in terrorism on U.S. soil, as have people with connections to the Chechnya, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia, and Nigeria. There are limited incidents involving Iran and Somalia, and a few other nations. The 35 attacks on American soil are tragic and the unjust deaths of citizens related to them should absolutely be prevented. However, some perspective is needed. Terrorism by Muslims made up less than one-third of 1 percent of all murders (54 lives) in the U.S. in 2016. By comparison, non-terrorist gun violence claimed 11,000 lives in the same time period. The countries in the Executive Order, Islam, and refugees are not problems and a ban is not the answer. However, the erosion of democracy and our values under the guise of national security is a huge concern. This morning, the Department of Homeland Security issued a “Response to Recent Litigation,” assuring that it would “continue to enforce all of President Trump’s Orders.” The statement goes on to minimize the affront to human rights by claiming that only a “minor portion” of travelers are affected. The Response does promise that it will “comply with judicial orders,” then returns to its “faithful” enforcement of President Trump’s executive orders. In an era where social media is being taken away from departments and climate data removed from government websites, I am left wondering who actually authored this, as it does not sound like the DHS I know and love. At the time of writing, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents are denying detained individuals access to lawyers at Dulles airport, telling our elected officials including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Virginia Representative Gerry Connolly that this legal right was “not gonna happen.” This is in direct defiance of a court order from Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia and similar orders from Judge Ann Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York. These orders should have stopped deportations and the removal of any green-card holders, as well as guaranteed that detained individuals have access to lawyers. A court ruling like this is what keeps America a democracy, albeit a “flawed” one. When the courts say stop, whatever is grinding comes to a halt. That is, unless of course, the Executive Branch decides that basic humanity can be ignored. According to the Lawyers for Good Government—Virginia, CBP at Dulles is belligerently insisting that the lawyers identify a Legal Permanent Resident in detention prior to giving that person access to a lawyer and are now transferring some detainees to Berks Detention Facility in Harrisburg, PA. They have been handed copies of the judicial rulings, to no avail. This is officially a constitutional crisis. Today’s protest was of a slightly different tenor than the Women’s March. We were equally fired up, but our tone had hardened. People marched for the very first time, including my dear friends Emily and Jason Preston, and promised to be at the next demonstration. Our resistance is growing. The signs were more to the point and less optimistic. A young child held one that read “I’m a kid, not a terrorist.” Another read, “I’m a Muslim married to a Jew, don’t f&@$ with us.” Nearby was “injustice for some is injustice for all.” Variation of “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses” abounded, with a few quoting the movie Clueless: “it does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty.” “Make America Kind Again” was next to a sign reading “LGBTQ Solidarity with Muslims and Refugees.” Pro-life marchers affirmed that the lives of refugees, Muslims, and immigrants also matter. Our collective focus was clear, but there was room for #BlackLivesMatter and a protest of the Keystone Pipeline, among others. When Lafayette Park was bursting at the seams, the crowd chose to march to the Capitol, where so many of our representatives have shamefully stayed silent in the face of discrimination and violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Many of us made sure to thank the DC police, who helped shape the impromptu march and kept us safe as we exercised our democratic rights. To return the Women’s March quote by Van Jones, the “love army and this movement is built on that momma bear love. That momma bear loves those cubs. And that momma bear’s not gonna let you mess with those cubs.” Today, there was an outpouring of aggressive love for refugees and immigrants. Today, tomorrow, and as long as it will take, these refugees and immigrants are my cubs, and I’m not going to let you mess with them. About the author: Kathryn Floyd is a former Editor of Diplomatic Courier. She is on Twitter @khfloyd. Photography courtesy of the author.