President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 27 that suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days and abruptly restricts immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. The order also bans all Syrian refugees indefinitely. Trump’s executive order (#MuslimBan) drew a crowd of over 1,000 protesters to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and tens of thousands more to airports across the country.
Anna Crosslin, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, and Mayor Francis G. Slay spoke at the International Institute on Monday, January 30 on the impact of the executive order on St. Louisans.
Crosslin said the International Institute was expecting 6o people to arrive in St. Louis this week alone and 53 were denied entrance. Slay said a 13-year-old boy in the Congo who will not be able to reach his father living in St. Louis despite having completed the vetting process. The boy was only days away from booking a flight.
“If the point of the legislation is to make Americans safer, it is bad legislation,” said Crosslin, who has served as president of the International Institute for nearly 40 years. “Refugees are not part of the problem; in fact, they are part of the solution.”
Crosslin believes the problem with many Americans is that they are not well informed on the facts and have allowed fear to fester.
“These [people] are not all unaccompanied males,” Crosslin said. “Two-thirds are women and children.”
She added that 98 percent of refugees have existing familial ties. Crosslin said that one problem with the executive order is that security clearances for refugees expire quickly – so a 120-day ban will mean that people will have to restart the vetting process which can take up to two years to complete.
“For someone with an existing medical condition like breast cancer, 120 days could mean a death sentence,” Crosslin said.
Saint Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams sent out a message after the executive order. He said the district’s ESOL Program currently supports more than 2,600 English language learners (ELLs) who come from 53 countries and collectively speak 46 different languages.
Enrollment in the ESOL Program saw a dramatic increase in the current school year as a result of the crisis in Syria and continued political situations in Somalia, Congo, and other countries, Adams said. More than 500 new ELLs joined Saint Louis Public Schools this school year.
“It is our responsibility as the public school system of the City of St. Louis and our privilege as educators to help welcome these new Americans to the Saint Louis Public Schools family,” Adams said. “By inviting and encouraging children from all different backgrounds and nationalities to fully participate in our classrooms, all of our students will be better prepared to lead and succeed in the dynamic, diverse world that awaits them.”
As to the current state of the city, Slay described St. Louis as a “welcoming community,” saying, “We stand ready to help.”
When the St. Louis American asked the mayor to differentiate between a “welcoming community” from a “sanctuary city,” Slay responded, “Under Missouri law, St. Louis cannot be a sanctuary city.”
Sanctuary cities are defined by their instruction to law enforcement not to target people for immigration infractions. Slay was referencing House Bill 1549, enacted in 2008, which outlaws any “county, city, town, or village” from endorsing sanctuary policies. Furthermore, the bill outlaws all state-level grant funding to a municipality using sanctuary policy.
Crosslin added, “We can give sanctuary without being a formally sanctuary [city].”
But with Slay on his way out, this could be a pivot point in the mayoral election. Of the top five candidates, Alderwoman Lyda Krewson, who represents Ward 28, was the only one to express pause at becoming a sanctuary city in the future, saying she would not want to jeopardize federal funds at this point.
On the question of worsening conditions for Muslims under the Trump regime, Crosslin addressed the future possibility of a Muslim registry.
“I’m not sure whether it can or cannot happen,” Crosslin said. “We don’t seem to learn from our history.”
