Ein amerikanisch-syrischer CEO wendet sich in einem offenen Brief an Donald Trump

Beyond the effects on my company, I wonder about a ripple effect on cybersecurity generally. The cybersecurity world is not local; you must collaborate internationally to defend against attacks. The nationalistic/isolationist approach that the travel ban reflects could cause the rest of the world to stop working with us. That would be bad for cybersecurity. You cannot build a wall to keep out cyber criminals, and without international cooperation, America will be less secure.

Something else about the ban hurts me even more than the business ramifications: My elderly grandmother, still in Syria, now cannot visit my family. My uncle who I recently sponsored and helped migrate to the United States is now separated from his wife and child.

I watched in shock and horror during the weekend your executive order was put into effect and sparked chaos in airports. How could this be happening? Green card holders – resident, legal aliens on their legal path to becoming U.S. citizens, just like my family was so many years ago – were being barred from re-entering the country if they happened to be traveling, say, to attend a funeral, wedding, or a business meeting?

Though it has been reported that your administration has since eased restrictions on green card holders, confusion prevails, as does the chilling effect on my business operations.

Like so many Americans, I ask why these seven countries – Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, and Libya – are being singled out when nationals of those countries haven’t killed a single person on U.S. soil between 1975 and 2015.

Why are Syrian refugees – women and children trying to escape a dictator even more brutal than the one my father left, and already subjected to a rigorous vetting process – barred indefinitely?

Mr. President, I urge you to reconsider this unfair, unnecessary, and harmful travel ban. Please think of people like my father who want nothing more than to assimilate into this great country and provide a better life for their family. And think of immigrants like me, who are creating jobs here at home and consider themselves red-blooded Americans who, just like you, want nothing more than to make this country great.