Travel Ban

Syrian doctor affected by Trump travel ban tells his story

ullahnor — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 19:52:56 +0000

Syrian doctor affected by Trump travel ban tells his story

ullahnor Fri, 08/18/2017 - 15:52

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Syrian doctor Khaled Almilaji greets his wife at Pearson Airport following U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban for Muslims. He was refused re-entry to the U.S. and offered a scholarship to U of T (photo by Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star/Getty Images)

Topic

Global Lens

Trump

Travel Ban

U.S.

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Toronto Life features Syrian doctor Khaled Almilaji's story in his own words.

The Brown University graduate student found himself stranded overseas by the Trump administration’s travel ban. With his wife pregnant and unable to return to the U.S., the Syrian physician was offered a scholarship to U of T for the executive master of health informatics program.

The couple were reunited in Toronto in June. As a recognized humanitarian who has worked closely with the World Health Organization and United Nations to co-ordinate the delivery of vaccines to 1.4 million Syrian children and provide health care in Syria during the six-year-long civil war, Dr. Almilaji's tuition is being covered by the university. Dr. Michael Dan and Dr. Amira Dan and other private donors have come forward to support Dr. Almilaji while he is in Toronto.

Dr. Almilaji, who was also featured on CBC's Metro Morning, will be studying at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

“I know the travel ban is all about politics, not security,” Dr. Almilaji says in the article. “It’s a game. But the people on Trump’s list have been suffering for many years, and the ban only increases that suffering.”

Read the article

U of T monitoring impact of revised U.S. travel ban

ullahnor — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 20:43:46 +0000

U of T monitoring impact of revised U.S. travel ban

ullahnor Thu, 06/29/2017 - 16:43

Topic

Our Community

Trump

Travel Ban

International Students

With a revised travel ban going into effect tonight for visits to the U.S., the ��Ƶ would like to remind faculty and students about supports available to them.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the revised immigration executive order, which took effect on March 16, would be upheld with the exception of foreigners holding “a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

While visas already approved will not be revoked, the State Department said Wednesday that new applicants from Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen must prove a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling already in the United States to be eligible. Grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, fiancés or other extended family members are not considered to be close relationships, according to the guidelines.

“We will be monitoring developments regarding this ruling to assess its impact to members of the university community and beyond. We would like to take this opportunity to remind the university community of available resources to those who may be impacted as a result of the reinstatement of the executive order,” said Joseph Wong, associate vice-president & vice-provost, international student experience.

Students

For students travelling or planning to travel abroad who have questions or concerns, please call U of T's safety abroad office at (416) 946-3929. In case of an emergency, reach the 24-hour, collect emergency line via campus police at (416) 978-2222.

Faculty & Staff

For faculty, visiting professors, guest lecturers with questions, please email: faculty.immigration@utoronto.ca. Staff, research associates, postdoctoral fellows, please email: hr.immigration@utoronto.ca.

International Students

For international students at U of T's downtown Toronto campus who may have questions or concerns about their own status, please call the Centre for International Experience at (416) 978-2564 or email: cie.information@utoronto.ca. For international students at U of T Mississauga, call the International Experience Centre at (905) 569-4716 or email: international.utm@utoronto.ca. For international students at U of T Scarborough, please call the International Student Centre at (416) 287-7518 or email: isc@utsc.utoronto.ca.

See additional info

Under Trump, border is being used to police the population, says U of T expert

ullahnor — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 17:45:26 +0000

Under Trump, border is being used to police the population, says U of T expert

ullahnor Tue, 03/07/2017 - 12:45

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Trump supporters show their love this weekend when the U.S. president visited his Mar-a-Lago resort home in West Palm Beach, Fla. (photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

The uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban has begun again.

Manpreet Kooner, a woman travelling on a Canadian passport was turned away at the border and told to get a valid immigrant visa. Khizr Khan, the father of an American soldier killed in Iraq who has been a vocal opponent of Trump cancelled a speaking engagement in Toronto because he says he was notified that his travelling privilieges were under review.

U of T News spoke with Emily Gilbert, associate professor of geography & planning and Canadian studies, about confusion emerging over Trump's latest order banning citizens from specific Muslim-majority countries.

U of T scholars write Op-Ed about not attending academic conferences in the U.S.

ullahnor — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 16:01:43 +0000

U of T scholars write Op-Ed about not attending academic conferences in the U.S.

ullahnor Tue, 03/07/2017 - 11:01

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U.S.Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection building in Washingon, D.C. (photo by Mobilus In Mobili via Flickr)

Topic

��Ƶ's Aisha Ahmad, an assistant professor of political science, and Minelle Mahtani, an associate professor of human geography and journalism, explain in The Globe and Mail why they cancelled plans to attend academic conferences and events in the United States because of Trump's recent travel bans.

“Neither of us wanted to withdraw,” they write. “But we felt the situation was out of control. Consider that several ordinary Canadian Muslims, who were not from banned countries, have already been improperly detained and denied entrance by zealous U.S. border agents who clearly didn’t understand the parameters of the original immigration order.”

Both Ahmad and Mahtani are affiliated with U of T Scarborough. They state that as targeted racialized academics, they knew they were “being forced to accept loss and indignity.”

“As the hysteria over the immigration ban and border-lock continues, it is apparent that U.S. border officials are not clear on how to implement these contested new rules, which continue to be fought in the courts,” they write. “Under these conditions, it is impossible for any of us to properly calculate the risks of travelling. For academics who are principal investigators in large global projects, this is a very serious cost calculation. One unlucky meeting with a careless border guard can jeopardize the ability of a researcher to complete their fieldwork, and thus risks their commitments made to both funding agencies and global research teams.”

Round two: U of T expert discusses constitutional questions arising over Trump's newly revised travel ban

ullahnor — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 21:22:19 +0000

Round two: U of T expert discusses constitutional questions arising over Trump's newly revised travel ban

ullahnor Mon, 03/06/2017 - 16:22

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Demonstrators in January protested U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim countries. The suspicion that it looks like a thinly disguised Muslim travel ban remains, says U of T's David Schneiderman (photo by Zach Gibson via Getty Images)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

U.S. President Donald Trump took a second attempt at his controversial travel ban Monday.

For 90 days, the new order says, visas will not be issued to people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Iraq has been taken off the visa blacklist.

This time, the order appears to be trying to avoid some of the chaos of the earlier ban – the new order will not affect green card holders or anyone who already has a visa, nor is it expected to result in widespread airport detentions, which sparked protests and several lawsuits last time. But questions still remain over its legality.

U of T Law Professor David Schneiderman told U of T News that while Trump may have an easier time in court with this version, federal courts may still be interested in the constitutional questions over the new order.

Is the revised ban unconstitutional?

It is hard to predict what a court will say about this new revised Executive Order. The suspicion that it looks like a thinly disguised Muslim travel ban remains. While nationals from Iraq have been removed from the list of designated countries, all of the other states have predominantly Muslim populations. Moreover, as last week’s leaked Homeland Security document reveals, banning travellers from these countries is an unreliable indicator of potential terrorist activity.

Just as federal courts in various states were interested in the possibility of violations of the First Amendment Establishment Clause by reason of religious discrimination in the first version of the travel ban – because of earlier statements made by then-candidate Trump and those of his top advisors – they might again be interested. But the revised Executive Order is designed to be more litigation-proof than the first, so the president may have an easier time in court than the last time around.

How is it different in terms of being able to prevent a federal judge from blocking it?

One significant revision is the exemption from the second travel ban of green card holders and those holding U.S. visas, whether outside or inside the U.S. This weakens the denial of ‘due process’ argument. Also the ban on Syrian refugees is not permanent but limited to 120 days.

If the first version of the travel ban was overbroad, this second version is (only) a little more carefully tailored. By omitting those who have an existing connection to the U.S., there will be more difficulty obtaining ‘standing’ to challenge the Executive Order before federal courts. The state of Washington, which successfully claimed standing because of its proprietary interest in public universities within the state, may not as easily obtain standing this second time around.

Indeed, standing to challenge the constitutionality of the ban (which requires showing a particularized and concrete injury) may prove more of a problem. Perhaps only litigants within the U.S. with a connection to banned overseas nationals – for instance, a U.S.-based citizen, green card or visa holder seeking to bring relatives to the U.S. – would be better situated to launch a challenge.

What are the legal issues this time?

Probably the issue of religious discrimination will be most prominent.

In the first Executive Order, ‘persecuted religious minorities’ (mainly Christians) from within the banned countries were accorded an exemption from the ban. Having omitted any reference to religious minorities in the second Executive Order, this renders it a little less vulnerable to constitutional challenge.

U.S. constitutional law (unlike most every other mature constitutional system) is not interested in indirect or ‘adverse impact’ discrimination. Only intentional discrimination is constitutionally cognizable. Courts may only find discrimination if it is on the face of, or just below, the record.

As last time, the argument will be that statements made by candidate Trump and his advisors reveal that an anti-Muslim animus is behind the Executive Order. Weighing against any judicial intervention is the alleged national security interest served by the ban, coupled with the statutory authority the president possesses to issue this order under the Immigration and Nationality Act. When acting under the authority of Congress, presidential power ‘is at its maximum’ and so less susceptible to constitutional attack.

U of T PhD student detained for hours in American airport this weekend

ullahnor — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 22:42:43 +0000

U of T PhD student detained for hours in American airport this weekend

ullahnor Mon, 01/30/2017 - 17:42

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Ehsan Alimohammadian was headed to San Francisco to present research findings at a scientific conference (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

��Ƶ PhD student Ehsan Alimohammadian was among those detained at an American airport this weekend, in his case for 14 hours Friday night before being flown back to Toronto.

The Iranian native who has been at U of T for the last 2 ½ years was headed to a conference in San Francisco to present research findings to a group of his peers on making photonic devices, using light for biological applications.

Instead, he was questioned for hours at San Francisco International Airport before being asked to sign a form “voluntarily” withdrawing from the U.S.

Today, his supervisor, Professor Peter Robert Herman of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, presented that research on his behalf.

“It’s very bad for the scientific community,” Alimohammadian said. “Science doesn’t have a nationality or religion. The scientific community shouldn’t be affected by a decision like this."

Herman, who spoke to U of T News from the conference, said the United States is caught in “an Orwellian world of ‘alternative truths.’”

“My opening slides this afternoon will point this out and call on American scientists and conference organizers to think hard about how to save their country from the present dangerous path. I am appalled that Ehsan had to suffer this poor welcome and want to remind him that America is great…at least many parts are.

“The American attendees and conference organizers are uniformly appalled. It warms my heart to see that all non-American attendees I have conversed with have such a uniform view of America’s wrong path.”

Back in September, Alimohammadian heard that his research paper was chosen to be presented at a conference for SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. His research looks at manipulating light to make photonic devices that have applications in DNA and sub-cellular studies.

He applied for a business visa and was approved back in November.

He cleared customs at Pearson Airport Friday evening.

But while his flight headed to California, things changed on the ground. U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban against seven predominantly Muslim countries took effect.

“It was while I was in the air, I guess, that this became effective so when I reached California, my visa was revoked. I was escorted by two Homeland Security officers and they started to ask questions and search all of my bags.”

Alimohammadian says the officers were “nice” and fed him dinner and breakfast and allowed him to call his dad in Iran and email his professor at U of T. But they began questioning him again at about 2 a.m. Saturday for another 2 hours and searched his bags – even after he agreed to sign a waiver to return to Canada.

“I couldn’t understand why they were searching through my stuff. The bags had already gone through security, and I already accepted that I will go back where I came from.”

After the questioning, he says, he signed the waiver. He flew out at 11 am Saturday. Two Homeland Security officers escorted him back to his flight to Toronto. U.S. officials took his passport, and he didn't get it back until he arrived in Canada.

Travel Ban

Syrian doctor affected by Trump travel ban tells his story

Read more about Dr. Almilaji

Read the article

U of T monitoring impact of revised U.S. travel ban

Students

Faculty & Staff

International Students

See additional info

Under Trump, border is being used to police the population, says U of T expert

Read more about constitutional questions over the new ban

U of T scholars write Op-Ed about not attending academic conferences in the U.S.

Read more of the Op-Ed

Round two: U of T expert discusses constitutional questions arising over Trump's newly revised travel ban

U of T PhD student detained for hours in American airport this weekend