Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban Separates Families, Sparks Controversy

Ramez Alghazzouli, a 30-year-old Syrian, had left Syria in 2011. The members of his family settled in Europe. In 2016, he married the 27-year-old Syrian, Asmaa Khadeem, and filed a visa application for her to join him in Arizona where he is pursuing his university studies.

Barred from entering the United States because of Donald Trump’s anti-immigration decree, the young woman is forced to live thousands of kilometers from her husband. "I find it totally unfair. All this for a matter of religion and nationality," laments Ramez, who adds: "If my wife were Polish or Norwegian, she would be here."

The Bridge Initiative, a research project to assess the impact of the US Decree on immigrants, over the period 2016-2018, identified 549 cases of family separations. More than 140 children have been separated from their parents, 37% of couples have been divided, and 14% of students are far from their families. In 2018, 37,000 visa applications were rejected by the State Department and 5% were exceptionally granted.

By enacting this law, Donald Trump has decided to ban Muslims from entering the United States. The Director of the Bridge Initiative Project states that this is "one example among many that proves that the anti-immigration decree amounts to a ban on the entry of Muslims into American territory. The human cost is devastating." She adds: "This is a discriminatory and prejudicial policy towards Muslims."