Travel ban is outrageous

Tomiwa AkintodeStaff Writer The Trump administration’s opinion on immigration in America has been pretty obvious right from the moment he became president. And now Trump is quite set on showing it to everyone again with his latest move to widen the travel ban that went into effect in 2017. Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Nigeria, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan have now been added to the travel ban, which will not allow citizens of those countries to secure visas that might lead to a permanent residency in the U.S. This ban will go into effect later this month. According to the a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security, the reasoning for this is because the listed countries have yet to share security information with the U.S Homeland Security Agency. As a Nigerian, it is hard to see the advantage of putting out a travel ban on citizens of my country and stopping them from becoming immigrants because this ban poses a risk of breaking up families and might even have a vast effect on the American economy. While it’s true that the terrorist organization in Nigeria, Boko Haram, might pose a risk to U.S security, their attacks are, sadly, centered around the northern region of Nigeria and other African countries. There has not been any record of the organization making plans to attack the U.S. Also, let’s not forget the fact that most of the attacks happening in the country currently are mainly domestic, and even the international terrorist attacks are less likely to come from any African country. Nigeria is one of Africa’s biggest economies and the most populated black country in the world. It is quite normal for a country with a huge labor force like that to migrate to other countries, and this can be quite beneficial when America is one of those countries. According to the Migration Policy Institute, 29% of Nigerian-Americans older than 25 hold a graduate degree and are more likely to hold professional jobs compared to 11% of the overall U.S. population. In other words, Nigerian immigrants are a part of the foundation that continues to build the United States so that it can continue to pride itself as a first-world country that rivals other first-world countries. Nigerian citizens have contributed a lot of good to the American government, and bringing up this ban might be a dangerous move for the American economy. The job positions held by these Nigerian immigrants prove that immigration in America is important if America wants to continue to be more progressive and inclusive. It is no news to anyone that America was founded upon diverse nationalities coming together to create a powerful country. And Nigerian immigrants should not be excluded from this diversity. When they are hired into the country’s workforce, it emphasizes diversity and shows other countries that America is not about one nationality alone—it is about different races and nationalities coming together to build a country. There are people outside of America who would love to settle down here so they can live their American dream, and this is impossible when the government tries its best to keep them out. The only way out of this is to consider other measures which work for both America and the countries banned. Regardless of one’s status, this ban affects every Nigerian who wishes to settle down in the United States, and I find it hard not to question if this ban is not just a move for Trump to gain more popularity before the upcoming re-elections.