Bay Area communities are reporting an increase in demand for passports, likely stemming from President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Delta College students say this is an overreaction and that nothing major is going to happen that would force anyone to rush to the nearest passport center.
“I got a passport to visit my nephew. I had no idea that people in the Bay Area were rushing for passports. They are just overreacting because this is Stockton. It’s one of those cities that will never change,” said Kyle Brown, an instructor for the Fencing club who recently got his passport.
Student Carlos Gonzalez got his passport when he was little.
“I don’t remember much because I was so small, but I need to renew mine because it’s expired. I’m only renewing it for when I travel to Mexico not because of Trump,” he said.
General opinion is that rumors of Trump deportations caused an unneeded reaction.
A. Atout, one of Delta College’s international students, has a different opinion on this matter.
She came to America because of the great reputation its education system has.
When asked over email, Atout responded with these statements.
“I can only say that the new immigration policies affected me personally and my family. On Dec. 16 2016 and after finishing my first year in Delta College, I visited my family in Jordan. I came back on Jan. 31 2017 with my brother who already has a USA tourist visa that is valid for 5 years. After we arrived in San Francisco airport, the immigration officers interrogated me for 5 hours then they allowed me to enter USA. However, they detained my brother for 24 hours in the airport and they cancelled his visa and sent him back to Jordan,” said Atout “This day was the worst day in my whole life because within 24 hours they did not give me any information about my brother while he was detained. Moreover, they did not answer the lawyer who was taking care of my brother’s case,” Atout said over email.
Atout is unsure if she is going to complete her studies because of this incident.
After explaining the situation in the Bay Area Atout gave an honest opinion.
“I completely understand their reaction. Yes, it is justifiable and I do not think they are overreacting at all. Policies are changing every day. Simply, the ‘American Dream’ is no longer a dream; it becomes a nightmare for many people. I think the American Dreamis a truth in Europe nowadays. Europe is welcoming refugees and immigrants, and is dealing with humans regardless of their origins,” she said.
A group of people at Delta College may think that rushing for a passport may be an overreaction, but that is not the case for someone that was affected personally.
Judging people in the Bay Area prematurely could lead to people dismissing cases like Atout’s and fully believing in some as true without all the details may lead to unjustified overreactions.
