Photo Courtesy of Muna
This interview is part of Broadly's Voices Against the Ban series. You can read more of these voices here.Broadly: Why do you oppose Trump's immigration restrictions?Muna, 26, Toronto: I oppose Trump's immigration orders because they represent a hard turn to the nativist right. Trump and those close to him—and here I'm thinking of Bannon and Sessions especially—want to take the country back for white Christians. That means defining Muslims and people of color exclusively as the targets for state surveillance, detention, and deportation. And yes, this was already the case but has gotten much worse. Trump also intends to turn an apparent blind eye to white supremacist and neo-Nazi terror acts, like the recent tragedy in a Quebec City mosque. Either way it means we die.How do these restrictions impact you or your loved ones?These restrictions don't impact most of my immediate family who naturalized some time ago or were born here, but I have family abroad that I'd hoped to one day connect with. It feels like now that there's a world of distance between me and cousins and friends who are Somali nationals. I wonder about the safety of my loved ones who are US and Canadian citizens but chose to return and work and live in Somalia. Will they be allowed to re-enter? My mother just bought land in Burao, and it has always been her dream to return. Is that dream over? I don't know but I'm not hopeful.If could tell President Trump one thing about these immigration restrictions, I would say they are counter to his vision for a prosperous America. Today across New York City, Yemeni bodega owners are striking and shutting down more than a thousand corner stores and delis to protest the ban. These are all small business owners who play a vital role in keeping his hometown running. There are brilliant engineers, doctors, students, creatives, impacted by the ban who can no longer enter the US. We're shooting ourselves in the foot, not helping Americans.This interview has been edited and condensed.