Arab Americans won't 'sugarcoat' talk with Homeland Security chief
By Todd Spangler , John Wisely and Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly can expect tough questioning when he meets with local Arab-American leaders Monday as part of a visit to metro Detroit.
Travel restrictions sought by President Donald Trump on visitors from majority-Muslim countries have sparked concern and anger, said those who plan to be at the meeting.
“This community feels they’re under attack, especially by the Department of Homeland Security,” said Nabih Ayad, a Dearborn attorney who is founder of the Dearborn-based Arab-American Civil Rights League and one of about eight Arab-American leaders scheduled to meet with Kelly. “He’s going to hear it firsthand. We’re not going to sugarcoat it. He needs to understand from a civil rights side and a security side how it’s affecting the community.”
Although an official schedule has not been released by DHS, Kelly also is expected Monday to meet with officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Detroit regarding the Ambassador Bridge, according to a government official who could not speak publicly. A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Snyder said there was no plan for him to meet with Kelly.
Metro Detroit, with its sizable Middle Eastern and Muslim population, is a frequent stop for federal leaders from both Democratic and Republican administrations. In January 2016, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson visited Dearborn to meet with Arab Americans, Muslims, and others. Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general appointed by Trump to run the sprawling DHS, is making his first visit.
Ayad said the clampdown on travel is violating civil rights, but also hurting America’s economy by deterring trade, business, and commercial flows. During Monday’s meeting, Ayad said he also plans to tell Kelly that DHS actions targeting Arabs and Muslims are also hurting America’s security by conveying to ISIS that America is against Muslims.
“Your implementation of these orders are only going to alienate all the hard work we do in the community and the trust we’ve been developing,” Ayad said. “We’re going to let him know that, you’re doing the … the public relations for the terrorists by alienating the community in making them feel like second-class citizens and maligning the community.”
Ayad said he worries that terrorist groups like ISIS can now say “see, we told you so, Americans and the West don’t like you. Come join us, come join us in hating Americans.”
Ayad filed a lawsuit this year challenging the constitutionality of Trump’s travel restrictions order. He has filed other lawsuits challenging federal agencies that deal with border security, saying that Muslims and Arabs are often targeted when crossing borders or arriving at airports. In recent weeks, some Muslims have reported increased questioning.
Trump sparked outrage during his campaign by saying he wanted to stop Muslims from entering the U.S. and in January, he issued an executive order restricting travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries.
Federal courts halted that order. A narrower order issued by Trump earlier this month targets, with some exceptions, visitors from six countries where the population is majority Muslim: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
Federal courts have split on the legality of the most recent order. Judges in Hawaii and Maryland ruled that it is likely unconstitutional, while a Virginia judge sided Friday with the Trump administration, saying the order fell within the president’s authority. The conflicting rulings up the stakes in an appeal that Trump indicated he wants to pursue.
Fay Beydoun, executive director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn and chair of the East Michigan Export Council, also plans to attend Monday’s meeting. She said business leaders worry about the economic impact of the executive orders.
“The community has a lot of concerns. We’d like to have an open mind as far as what they have to say. We want to have a seat at the table and have our voices heard,” Beydoun said. “By slamming the door on talented immigrants — including those already legally in the U.S. and those seeking to enter — the ban will create a barrier to innovation, economic development and global impact.”
She added that the executive order ignores talented immigrants who have made significant contributions to the growth and prosperity in the U.S. and around the world.
Dr. Yahya Basha of West Bloomfield is an Arab-American Muslim leader, and a Republican, who plans to press Kelly on the travel restrictions.
Basha, a native of Syria, said many Arab Americans support the idea of strong vetting of people entering the U.S., but feel Trump’s executive order “is too harsh of a response,” that has unfairly disrupted lives for many in Michigan.
“We hope that the administration will find a reasonable approach,” said Basha. “There are a lot of people from the six countries who have family members they want to see, children like to see their grandparents, brothers and sisters, go for weddings, child births.”
Basha said the orders were also illogical because terrorists who have struck America, such as on 9/11, didn’t come from the countries on the list.
“Our people coming from Syria never had those criminal records or security issues,” Basha said. “I don’t mind the vetting, but there has to be a reasonable approach.”
