The Trump Travel Ban Is Backfiring

Trump's strict immigration policies seem to be backfiring and those getting affected are people that voted for him and were the most loyal to him.

A woman living in Miami, Leymi Reyes Figueredo prepared a room for her teenage daughter, hoping she would soon arrive from Cuba. She had very high hopes of seeing her daughter come to America.

But unfortunately, her 15 year old daughter was denied a U.S. visa and this was entirely because of President Donald Trump’s travel ban made against Cuba. Trump's policy says outright that the ban protects the United States from terrorists and national security threats. But that protection comes with its disadvantages.

A lot of Cuban families argue that this policy is unfair because their children and relatives are not dangerous people however it affects them even more. This is starting to look like chemotherapy, in an attempt to remove cancer cells, you end up destroying good cells.

Trump's new bans on travel and immigration has been in place for only a few months and it is already separating thousands of families.

The Florida’s Cuban American community, which was strongly loyal to President Trump and even went all out in supporting him during the election last year is now divided and upset.

You can't blame them too much, they never saw it coming, people who voted for Trump are now saying they feel betrayed by his actions on immigration.

One woman said to a couple of reporters that she loves Trump, but she believes this policy is just not fair. Her statement was made after her family's visa was denied.

The U.S. State Department claim they are only enforcing immigration laws and not trying to sperate families. They said the earlier open border policies are to be blamed for this unfortunate outcome.

But there are critics who say that Trump’s order goes far beyond normal enforcement. The order is blocking legal immigrants who followed all the rules. Under previous laws, Cubans could usually get visas or residency more easily than other groups.

They had programs like the Cuban Adjustment Act and the family reunification parole which helped families come together legally. But President Trump’s new policy has canceled or limited those programs and that has left many people stuck in Cuba.

The stats shows that about 110,000 Cubans currently living in the U.S. now face the possibility of deportation after temporary protections ended. Also, some families who applied years ago are now seeing their cases suddenly rejected. Rejected even when they waited legally.

Lawyers in South Florida have reported that more visa cases are being denied than under any recent president.

This may not be the best of news but at least some families have decided to take the matter to court. They are suing Trump's administration. The accusation is that Trump used national security as an excuse to control all immigration. It kind of looks like it though if you ask me.

More and more people, even those that were so loyal to Trump are beginning to see inadequacy and incompetence in the actions of the administration.

One of the lawsuits in Los Angeles argues that Trump ignored Congress and gave himself unlimited power over who can enter the country.

Perhaps with Trump's power, the effect of this lawsuit may not be significant enough to bring changes but at least it makes more people aware of what's going on.

That same travel ban also affects families from countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, and Yemen, so it's not just Cuba. The order is made in the name of protecting America but we really should look at the bigger picture which more people are now paying attention to so that's good. The policies may be hurting the country more than solving problems. And it's giviy way too much power to one person and his little group.

Despite all that is happening, many Cubans are afraid to join the lawsuit because they still support Trump or I mean they fear backlash from their community.

Some people are trying to change Trump’s mind by signing petitions and holding rallies in Miami’s Little Havana in the hopes that they'll will soften his heart and make exceptions for Cuban families who only want to reunite. This should not have been the case, democracy seems to be fading but good news is people are still fighting, going on demonstration and not giving up on their rights.

Because of this crisis, some Cuban Americans now feel abandoned by the politicians they supported to gain the power which is being used against them. So far, Florida’s Republican members of Congress which includes Carlos Giménez, Mario Díaz Balart and María Elvira Salazar have not spoken out against the ban.

Even Marco Rubio, Trump’s Secretary of State and who is infact a Cuban American, has also not made comments and has stayed silent on the matter. We see clearly that Trump’s strict immigration plan is backfiring, hurting people who once trusted him most.

Screenshot of travel ban zones from this site