Kristen Arms | Columnist

The immigration ban is foreshadowing.

The executive order enacted Jan. 27 has implications regarding just how serious President Trump was about his campaign promises. He made outlandish claims when running for office, like on Oct. 21 when he claimed he would only let people say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays,” according to an Oct. 22, 2015 CNN article.

Signing an immigration ban, however, hints at Trump having ulterior motives. Trump has no business interests in any of the countries on the list but holds major stakes in multiple countries not on the list, according to a Feb. 1 NY Daily News article.

The ban is a selfish move because he did not ban countries that it would make sense to restrict access from, such as Saudi Arabia, the origin of the majority of the 9/11 terrorists. This act that shows much of the presidency could be used for personal gain for Trump and not to help America.

Mackenzie Meadows | Columnist

The immigration ban should not include those who call the U.S. home.

NIU alumni, Nazanin Zinouri, left the U.S. to visit her family on vacation in Iran. Zinouri is a resident of the United States who lives in South Carolina, according to a Feb. 2 Northern Star article.

Upon her return, she was denied entry into the U.S. because of the newly implemented immigration ban created by President Trump’s executive order.

Even though it keeps out refugees, we as a country need to focus on our own homeless individuals before we worry about more. America has its own problems that need to be fixed before we attempt to solve other countries’ issues.

I do not think it is right to deny re-entry to people with valid green cards or working visas back into the United States. This is their home, and our nation needs to do all that we can to get these people—regardless of their origins— back home.

I believe good can come from the immigration ban; however, Trump needs correct the bad things as well.

Faith Mellenthin | Columnist

The immigration ban is unprofessional.

Several well-established companies in the U.S. have challenged the unethical nature of the immigration ban executive order signed by President Trump.

Tech companies such as Apple Inc. have openly opposed the ban, stating the value of immigration not only to a company but to the future. Similarly, Starbucks has pledged to hire 10,000 refugees in response to the executive order, according to a Jan. 30 New York Times article. The Coca-Cola Company also said that the immigration ban does not reflect the core beliefs of their company.

The U.S. has become a country of entrepreneurship and progressive thinking; however, these ideals are being devalued with a president that is acting unprofessionally. The president is not accurately representing the thoughts of his people in a company he is not the founder of.

Ian Tancun | Columnist

The immigration ban is the by-product of electing an ill-informed xenophobe to the White House.

The executive order that the president signed, which calls for “extreme vetting” of refugees, is not a travel or a Muslim ban, said Sean Spicer, White House press secretary, during a Jan. 31 press briefing.

While Spicer plays the pointless semantics game, those of us with a firm grasp of logic and reason see this executive order for what it is: the Muslim ban that President Trump called for during his presidential campaign.

While this ban is a disgrace, I’m encouraged by the massive opposition and protests that spontaneously developed at airports across the U.S. as soon as the ban was put into place. It is going to take an uprising from the masses to continue to combat the reckless actions of a president who seems to thrive on chaos and conflict.