May be legal to deny immigrants, but it is not right
Most lawyers were not surprised by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. Hawaii, the “travel ban” case. The moral uprightness of banning people from the seven countries on the President’s list wasn’t a factor for the Court. Presidents have always had broad authority to protect the country by controlling immigration. In World War II, a great President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, even interred American citizens and the Supreme Court let his “concentration camp” order stand. So it’s not surprising that the Court affirmed the President’s authority to do so. They did not weigh in on whether it was right for him to do so – many, and I am one of them, think it was wrong and even cruel.
One of the countries whose citizens are now banned from stepping onto our shores is Syria. A long civil war has claimed more than 400,000 Syrian lives. No argument needs to be made — many Syrians need to flee to safety. They need to run for their lives. Most of the 9/11’s terrorists were from Saudi Arabia, none were from Syria. But Syrians are banned and Saudis are welcomed.
When the first Syrians came here in the 1890s, they, on the whole, took advantage of the opportunities this land had to offer. They worked and studied and built businesses. They served in the military and paid their taxes and loved this country.
My grandparents were among them. Their children, my parents and aunts and uncles, lived out their parents dream. They, like all parents, only wanted their children to be in a better position in life then they themselves were. They sacrificed and served. My father flew 35 combat missions as a gunner on a B-17 during World War II and, though born here, English was the second language he learned. He was proud to be of Syrian descent, but he was an American. Five uncles and one aunt served this country in uniform, four of them during World War II and two in Korea. Many cousins served in the service after Korea several of which on the ground in Vietnam. I put no statistics forward but, anecdotally, I can tell you that our story is not unique. Many from all of the seven countries banned have in the past sent their “poor and huddled masses” to these shores and they have contributed mightily to our nation.
It may be legal to deny hope to people because we have targeted their homeland, but it is not right.
Samuel Davis has been practicing law since 1976 as a founding partner of Davis and Davis, Attorneys at Law in Uniontown and recently wrote a book “They Were Immigrants: The Lasting Legacy of My Syrian Grandparents.”