'My Parents Are Now Afraid for Our Safety'

This interview is part of Broadly's Voices Against the Ban series. You can read more of these voices here.

Broadly: Why are you against Trump's immigration restrictions?

Alina, 22, New York City: I am against Donald Trump's immigration ban because it excludes a certain group of people, which is racism.

How are you directly affected by the ban?

My family is actually Muslim. My parents are from Pakistan and I'm directly affected by the ban because it directly discriminates against Muslims. My parents are now afraid for our safety. We even discussed moving possibly if things ever got worse. My dad has been here since the 80s and my mom since the 90s. Our heritage is actually Iranian and we were supposed to go to Iran over the summer to visit our heritage and we can't do that now. For lot of my friends who have family members in this country, their family members are no longer allowed to come back.

Are you hopeful?

I am hopeful, partly because of the work that I do. I work for an amazing non-profit. We work directly against these issues. We have the largest refugee camp in the Middle East in Jordan. Working alongside people who care about these issues does give me hope. Being at the protest today and seeing all these people and standing in solidarity really gives me hope, just all the love that's going around.

This interview has been edited and condensed.