Trump's Travel Ban: Chicago-Area Refugees, Immigrants Tell Their Stories

CHICAGO, IL — As President Donald Trump promises to introduce a new immigration ban, a group of Chicago-based journalists has launched a new website to share in-depth, immigrant and refugee-driven narratives.

90 Days, 90 Voices offers a blend of original reporting, illustrations and videos to give readers a glimpse into the hardships endured by the more than 65 million refugees worldwide as well as those working to help them.

“With Trump’s executive order on January 27 and the new immigration ban expected this week, hearing the voices of immigrants and refugees is more important than ever,”said Nissa Rhee, founder and editor of the project.

"The goal of 90 Days, 90 Voices is to humanize the debate about immigrants and refugees in this country. We want to go beyond the headlines about the recent immigrant ban and immigration raids and really show who these people are, why they're coming to the United States, and what they're leaving behind"

On 90 Days, 90 Voices, you’ll meet a lawyer camped out at O’Hare International Airport in anticipation of the new ban, learn how to make a traditional Syrian pasta from an asylum seeker here, hear the story of a Somali torture victim who made a new home in America, and read the account of a 9-year-old girl from Myanmar:

The project's founders were spurred to create the website in response to the controversy surrounding Trump's Jan. 27 executive order, which barred citizens of seven countries from coming to the United States for 90 days and all refugee admissions for 120 days. The storytellers aim to collect at least 90 stories from the immigration ban and beyond over the next few months.

Rhee explained the motivation for the project in a Q&A with Patch:

How does this project relate to federal refugee and immigration policy?

The United States admitted 84,995 refugees last year -- more than the populations of Northbrook and Glenview combined. Many of these refugees are coming from countries where the United States had a hand in destabilizing their country, like Iraq or Afghanistan, and all of them are very much in need of a safe place to call home. Given President Trump's recent ban on Syrian refugees and the recent rhetoric about the danger immigrants pose to Americans, it's more important than ever to give voices to these populations. By ignoring their voices and barring their entry into this country, we are putting an already vulnerable population even more at risk.

Why do you believe we should to hear more from refugees?

We often hear that immigrants built America, and we talk about the great European immigrants of the past who helped make Chicago great. But we don't hear the stories of more recent immigrants, especially those from the Middle East and Africa. I think it's important to tell their stories for a number of reasons, chief among them being their need for help is so great. Illinois took in 10,864 refugees from the seven countries specified in President Trump’s January 27th order since 2007 and about half of them settled in Chicago, while hundreds of others found homes in the west and north suburbs. These refugees rely on their neighbors for support settling into life in America, learning English, and finding jobs. When we support these new refugees living in the Chicago area, we are ensuring that they can help make our region even greater in the future.

What kind of response have you received from the Chicago area?

While there has been a lot of talk recently about the dangers of immigrants, the warm reception that 90 Days, 90 Voices has gotten so far from Chicagoans has shown me that most people reject this narrative.
From the mothers who pooled their resources to help a Syrian family move to Skokie to the volunteers at ESL classes at the Rohingya Culture Center on Chicago's far north side, people in the Chicago area genuinely want to help immigrants and refugees who are fleeing violence.
We want to uplift their voices in 90 Days and provide a counter narrative to what's coming out of Washington.

What kind of stories or media are you asking people to submit?

We are looking for stories from refugees and immigrants and the people who work with them. While our inspiration for 90 Days came from President Trump's January 27 immigration ban, we are not limiting ourselves to immigrants from the seven countries listed in the ban. So if you're an immigrant yourself -- be it from South Korea or Germany -- or know someone who has interesting to tell, please reach out to us.

People can email us their story ideas at 90days90voices@gmail.com or fill out the forms on our website.

Top photo: Malak Afaneh (Courtesy of Nissa Rhee)