Trumpism Will Stop Refugee’s NSU Graduation Plan

In his only use of the word compromise in his acceptance speech last night, Republican Presidential nominee Donald J. Trump said “we must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place. We don’t want them in our country.”

Dang—no visitors from France. And no more Northern students like Waleed Ahmed, a refugee from Egypt, which saw 1,000 terror-related deaths just last year.

Waleed Ahmed protested alongside his brother to topple the Mubarak regime and bring democracy to Egypt. He helped Syrian refugees in Cairo find jobs and affordable housing. Now he’s a refugee himself, here in Aberdeen, separated from his family, because the dictators who’ve kicked out that democracy would likely throw him in jail:

…Ahmed’s parents told him to stay in the U.S.

“I’m calling, and my family’s telling me, ‘They came last night,'” Ahmed said. “‘They took your computer and your brother’s stuff, so you probably should stay in America for a while.'”

His brother was arrested, spent time in prison, and eventually moved to Saudi Arabia where he works as an accountant, Ahmed said.

Now, anyone who speaks out against the Egyptian government is in danger of being arrested and those people are sometimes never heard from again, Ahmed said. It’s not the Egypt he was fighting for five years ago [Katherine Grandstrand, “Northern Student from Egypt Seeks Asylum in US,” Aberdeen American News, 2016.07.21].

Dang—I just went on the radio this morning and called our Republican Presidential nominee Mussolini. I live in no fear that government agents will confiscate my computer and arrest me. I am proud to live in a country that will offer Ahmed and other dissidents similar protection. Dissidents from countries stricken by unrest and terrorism need our help, not our fear and rejection.

Grandstrand reports that Ahmed gets no financial aid because he’s not a traditional international student. After waiting nine months to get a work permit, Ahmed is working full-time, with a second job during the summer, to pay for Northern entirely out of pocket. If we grant him asylum, he’ll be able to graduate next spring with a degree in political science. If we elect Donald Trump, Ahmed figures his stay at Northern is done:

“When he said that he was going to ban Muslims from entering … What if he’s going to be in power?” Ahmed said. “I don’t think I’ll even have a chance to give my case. What am I going to do? I’ll get deported probably, because I’m a Muslim applying for asylum in the United States, and he doesn’t want any Muslims to come here” [Grandstrand, 2016.07.21].

Waleed Ahmed is busting his chops far from home to equip himself with the education and skills to go back home and help his people. The only thing standing in his way is Trumpism. Help Waleed stay safe and finish his degree: reject Trumpism and vote for Hillary Clinton in November.