President Trump’s immigration order placing a 90-day moratorium on entry to the U.S. of citizens from seven countries overrun by Islamic terrorism has prompted much commentary, some of it intelligent but much of it ill-informed. In an attempt to illuminate the discussion, I asked several current and former refugees from those countries who are living in the U.S. for their thoughts on Trump’s order.
The following is a transcript* of short interviews with a former “lost boy” of Sudan, a recently-settled refugee from Syria, a mother of six from Sudan and a Somali refugee living in Houston.
Peter Kuch, South Sudan
Peter Kuch was born in what was then Sudan (now South Sudan) and was displaced from his home during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when roving militias from the north attacked his village. Kuch and thousands of other “lost boys” made the 600-mile trek to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. He spent four years there living in terrible conditions before making a perilous year-long odyssey to a camp in Kenya, where he spent the next decade. In 2003, after a lengthy and rigorous vetting process, Kuch gained admittance to the U.S. as a refugee. Since coming to the U.S., Kuch has earned a college degree, joined the military, become a U.S. citizen, married and become a father. I wrote about his harrowing journey and to the United States here.
Q. What was your initial reaction to news that President Trump had placed a moratorium on entry for anyone from Sudan and on refugees from around the world?
Kuch: “Well, I was watching it when he signed the order and my reaction was just like any other Americans who are concerned about refugees especially being a refugee myself for so many years. And just to be clear, I’m not a Sudanese by birth since South Sudan became independent (in 2011). I claim South Sudan because that’s where I was born, but that didn’t stop me from my feelings because I have some of my South Sudanese people who are still green card holders but their documents still say Sudan as the place of their birth. I’m worried about them.”
Q. How are people from your country (those here in the U.S. and back home) reacting to news of this order?
A. “It’s worrisome, people are terrified. [As a] matter of fact, one of our community leaders who’s … a professor at University of Vermont said that immigration attorneys have advised, as things stand now, that South Sudanese should not travel outside the country as their green cards or passports still say “Sudan” because [Sudan and South Sudan were one country at the time of their] birth! There are still many ‘lost boys’ of Sudan who are still green cards holders and they are now affected by this executive order. But in actuality, they have nothing to do with Sudan.”
Q. If you could tell President Trump one thing in regards to his immigration policies, what would it be?
A. “Well, President Trump [has] a right to do anything to protect [the] U.S. with everything [at] his disposal. But I think this immigration executive order was ill-crafted with no thought put into it. It’s very confusing to people including myself. If I have to tell him then I would say: ‘Mr. President you probably need to retract this order for further ratification!’
…Overall, I have no problem with it, but I think it could have [been] better. Moreover, I think there are … countries that are excluded from that list that are far [more] dangerous than those listed, for example, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Tunisia, which have produced more terrorists than any country on that list.”
Imad Al-Marei, Syria
Al-Marei is the father of five students at KEYS Grace Academy, a public charter school in Madison Heights, Mich. Al-Marei applied for refugee status to the U.N. Refugee Agency immediately when the Islamic State started to take hold in Syria. He and his family then moved to a refugee camp in Jordan, eight family members in one tent in conditions that included no water or electricity. Al-Marei and his family’s application to come to America was approved on Sept. 5, 2016. He says that “was the best news I have ever received in my entire life.” Six weeks later, they entered the U.S. “I cannot explain the happiness I felt when we got accepted to come to America,” he says.
Q. What was your initial reaction to hearing news of the order?
A. “When I heard the news about Trump’s ban, I had a lot of anxiety and I became very scared. I believed that I came to a country of freedom that allows all people of different religion, different origins and different races. Now and unfortunately, my opinion is different because I don’t know what will happen to me and my family. We just came from Syria two months ago, and I don’t know where we stand.”
Q. How are people from your country (those here in the U.S. and back home) reacting to news of this order?
A. “Ever since the news about this order, my phone has not stopped ringing from my family all over the world. They are worried about what will happen to me and my family and are scared for everyone in this situation.”
Q. If you could tell President Trump one thing in regards to his immigration policies, what would it be?
A. “We left our country because we were scared in our country. I ask that you please do not do that same thing in America. We are begging you to look at our situations in a different way. People like me just want to live in peace. We finally got peace when we came here. Please don’t take it away from us.”
“Nadia,” Sudan
“Nadia” is a mother of six from Sudan now living in Madison Heights, Mich. She and her children left Sudan in 2005 after her husband was kidnapped (she still hasn’t heard from him). They lived in Egypt for 11 years. “Nadia” responded on the condition of anonymity.
Q. What was your initial reaction to hearing news of the order?
A. “I was very upset when I heard the news. I was think[ing] of America as the Mother for people like us. They lift us up. America isn’t like this. I did not trust my government back home. I trust America. My parents in Sudan worry about us more than anything. We are thinking about them, too. They have been trying to come here for years. It’s their dream. Now it’s like someone told them to wake up from that dream, that it will never happen.”
Q. What would you tell President Trump?
A. “Please, Mr. President, think hard about us . ..when people like us apply to come here, we do it because we are helpless. When America accepts us, we develop a love for the country like it is our mother.”
Aisha Hassan, Somalia
Hassan lives in Houston, Texas. She and her two sons came to the US from a refugee camp in Kenya two years ago.
Q. How did you feel when you heard about Trump’s executive order?
A. “I am really sad. It is like my world came down on me, because the last time I saw my husband was when my boys were 6 and 7 — almost 7 years ago.
Q. How did people in Somalia react news of the order?
A. “No one was expecting this news from the land that everyone feels [is a] safe haven and place of refuge and security.”
Q. What would you tell President Trump?
A. “Please let me raise my children where I feel a safe and they can not be killed because Somali is a war zone; and let my children experience what it is like to have a father in their life and let the family reunite again, because this ban tears families apart.”
Camila, Syria
Camila, a mother of two, is from Hassake, Syria.
Q. How did you feel when you heard about Trump’s executive order?
A. “I was happy when I first heard this. I agree with Trump because he says he wants to make Christians a priority. If he makes Christians and Yazidis a priority, that’s a good thing, because they are really struggling to get here. We are persecuted in camps, which are the only way we can start paper work. It is not fair. I have a lot of family in Syria. They are excited when they hear more Christians will be coming. I left Syria 4 years ago. We didn’t waste any time. We were lucky, though. Our process was quick, and we didn’t experience the bullying and other crimes the other Christians experience in camps.”
Q. What would you tell President Trump?
A. “I would tell him to keep his promise. If he is just saying Christians will be a priority for political reasons, this is wrong. Do not get our hopes up.”
*Responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Daniel Allott is deputy commentary editor for the Washington Examiner
