In the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning the entry of all residents from seven predominantly Muslim countries and its temporary block by federal judges, some students are left feeling uncertain about their future.
In February, Provost, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Student Affairs Kenneth G. Furton communicated this through an email to the FIU community, stating “as a community we must all come together to support those among us who may be feeling particularly vulnerable during this uncertain time.
However, Muslim students such as Ayaz Parbtani, an FIU undergraduate student originally from Pakistan, are still feeling the indirect implications of the ban—the feeling that they are not wanted.
Parbtani came to the United States with his family in 2000 and joined the U.S military in 2006. As an Army veteran, he served for six years before deciding to come back to FIU to get an education.
Although he is an American citizen, he said he still felt the repercussions of the ban.
“I know I’m not banned right now,” said Parbtani. “But what’s to say 10 days down the road I won’t be banned? I served America, my country, for six years.”
Victoria Rivera is also an American citizen who studied at FIU. A convert to the religion, she has currently had trouble feeling accepted by society.
“I converted to Islam about five months ago when I was in Montana on a paid volunteer position,” said Rivera. “I came to a point where the only thing keeping me from converting was the tension surrounding this election.”
Other students had been even more directly implicated, such as FIU research student Ehssan Amir Sayyafi, who had parents who lost their money trying to get visas.
“They spent a lot of money to get the visa. It takes months to check background, and the visa only gives you three months to stay in the U.S, and they had to travel to other countries to get the visa.”
Occasional family visits are what keep him and his wife grounded, since Ph.D. research can take an average of 8.2 years to complete. With the recent birth of their baby boy, their parents’ plans to visit were cut short by the ban as well.
Sayyafi explained that even though the muslim ban was not active, it would be hard to start the process again.
“The last time I saw my parents was two years ago when they came to visit. We just had a baby, a new baby,” said Sayyafi. “They just want to see their grandson.”
Glenn Hutchinson, an FIU English professor, might not have been impacted by the ban and its aftermath, but he nevertheless feels empathy for his students. Also a volunteer for Friends of Miami detainees, he has seen first-hand the immigrants who were not so lucky and were detained illegally.
“Over the past year, I had been visiting a man from Bangladesh who is Muslim. I was so happy that he was able to win political asylum last month. He was released and able to be reunited with his uncle in New York,” said Hutchinson.
Hutchinson said he worries about how this will affect Muslims in the community.
“I am glad that students are voicing their concerns at FIU,” said Hutchinson.
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