The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 26 to uphold President Donald Trump’s travel ban in a 5-4 decision.
The latest version of Trump’s travel ban restricts travel from seven countries: Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Venezuela with varying degrees of restrictions. Five of these countries have primarily Muslim populations.
Omar Ismail, the vice president of the UI Muslim Student Alliance, said that while he understands the need for security, he finds Trump’s policy of blocking entry to the U.S. discriminatory.
“These countries have a lot of amazing people, smart people,” Ismail said.
His father grew up in Yemen, Ismail said, which was a war zone at the time. In the U.S., he works as a senior medical physicist and is loved by his patients.
“There’s so much potential to make the country better bringing in a bunch of amazing individuals,” Ismail said.
UI Dean of International Programs Downing Thomas said during the 2017-18 academic year, there were 72 UI students from the affected countries, excluding North Korea and Somalia. He noted that while the students are from these countries, they themselves may not be affected by the recent ruling.