Ohio Immigrant Alliance reacts to rumors of new Muslim, African, and Caribbean ban
As the Trump administration prepares a new Muslim, African, and Caribbean ban, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance mourns the continued consequences of the first time this administration collectively condemned a group of people based on where they were born and their commitment to faith. The first Muslim and African ban was not only implemented at airports, harming people with visas who were returning to jobs and families in the United States — although that was an ugly and visible expression of the Trump administration’s racism and Islamophobia.
The impact was also felt in deportations. While average annual deportations fell during the first Trump administration, as compared to the Obama years, deportations to Africa, the Caribbean, and Muslim-majority nations increased by 74, 48, and 38 percent, respectively.
In Ohio, one population that experienced a seismic shift in stability is the established community of Black Mauritanians. Alerted by community leaders, Franklin Foer of The Atlantic came to Columbus, Ohio in 2018 to document their disappearances. Beloved community members were going into “check-in” meetings with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and not coming out. Foer wrote:
Imagine: You fled from a government militia intent on murdering you; swam across a river with the uncertain hope of sanctuary on the far bank; had the dawning realization that you could never return to your village, because it had been torched; and heard pervasive rumors of former neighbors being raped and enslaved. Imagine that, following all this, you then found yourself in New York City, with travel documents that were unreliable at best.
That was the origin story of many Ohio Mauritanians, who moved here from New York because houses were affordable, jobs and opportunities were available, and communities were safe — the same reasons anyone moves to a new place. Overnight, Ohioans who survived a genocide and rebuilt their lives went from safety and family to ICE detention, in county jails where they were physically and verbally abused.
Demba Ndiath, Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s Advocacy Director, recalls what it felt like to see loved ones and role models disappear:
For many of us Senegalese and Mauritanians who lived through the first Trump term, this new announcement brings back dark memories of targeted deportations and the quiet disappearances of our brothers and sisters from our mosques.
During Trump’s first presidency, African and Muslim immigrants experienced harsh immigration policies with little public awareness. Many members of our community were deported without due process, tearing families apart, and creating an atmosphere of fear and financial strain for working families that continues to this day. The so-called “travel ban” was never about national security — it was a deliberate attempt to exclude and criminalize Muslims, including those from African nations.
At a time when the Trump administration attempted to take agency and power from Black and Muslim immigrants in Ohio, a beautiful thing happened. They banded together and raised their voices. They declared “Ohio is home,” and worked with lawyers and activists on the outside to win their own freedom and end two ICE contracts with county jails. Some were deported and some were liberated. But their bravery from inside ICE jail dramatically reduced pain for others, limiting deportations in the region for four years. Even after their deportation, they continued to speak up. As Birane Wane, an Ohio father, said, “Ohio is my second country.”
Maryam Sy, Organizing Director with Ohio Immigrant Alliance, interviewed over 250 people who were deported. Most are Black and Muslim immigrants who lived in the United States for decades. Her research, paired with stories and empirical data from social scientists, formed the basis of Broken Hope: Deportation and the Road Home, by Lynn Tramonte of OHIA and Suma Setty with the Center for Law and Social Policy. Sy was honored with the Women’s Community Catalyst Award from We Are All America for her work on this project.
Sy’s interviews cataloged unimaginable pain — shattered family relationships, poverty and homelessness, medical crises, abuse in individuals’ countries of origin, and more. But it also chronicled the value that was stolen from Ohio communities when our friends and loved ones were taken. We want them back home.
Take, for example, Qu’ran teacher Seydou Sarr. His community in Columbus recorded videos pleading for Sarr to be allowed back in the United States after his deportation. One former student wrote, “Ever since Seydou Sarr left the community, I’ve noticed a decline in kids wanting to go to school; an increase in kids taking drugs; an increase in kids doing violent acts; an increase in kids of the community having no place to express their feelings and anger, which results in them being depressed. I strongly believe that if Seydou Sarr was still in the community, all those things that I listed would most likely have been prevented. And I also believe he should be given another opportunity to come back, not just to better his life but to better the lives of the future kids in our communities.”
Speaking from her experience interviewing people for OHIA’s #ReuniteUS project and Broken Hope, and as a Black, Muslim immigrant woman, Sy said:
A new Muslim ban in the U.S. would be unjust, planting discord and fear instead of unity and compassion. It will divide families, bring economic challenges in many American households, and create more borders and divisions.
The Muslim faith is one of peace, compassion, and submission to the will of Allah. In all cases, Insha Allah, we will be okay — we trust in God’s plan.
Insha Allah means “If God wills.” This, for Muslims, means embracing humility, patience, gratitude, and HOPE. Insha Allah reminds us to remain hopeful, even in difficulties. Insha Allah brings us together as a community, united by our belief in something greater than ourselves, in the belief that we are all humans, we are all brothers and sisters.
Today, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance is proud to stand with Ohio Muslims, Black immigrants, and everyone who has chosen to make this state their home and wants to make it a better place. A new Muslim, African, and Caribbean ban would be bad for Ohio, bad for our communities, and bad for this nation.
Added Ndiath, OHIA’s Advocacy Director:
As we observe the sacred month of Ramadan, a time of reflection, unity, and spiritual renewal, our community is once again faced with an old and painful reality: the return of Trump’s Muslim ban.
Now, as Trump renews his promise to implement another ban, we cannot ignore the threat this poses to our communities once again. This policy is not just an attack on travelers — it is an attack on families, on faith, and on the fundamental principles of religious freedom and equal treatment.
We refuse to remain silent. We call on all leaders, advocates, and allies to stand with us in rejecting policies rooted in fear and discrimination. Our community will not be erased. We will continue to pray, to organize, and to fight for the right to live with dignity and security in this country.
This Ramadan, we pray not just for protection, but for justice.
The Ohio Immigrant Alliance is calling on our communities, state, and country to stop scapegoating good people, and look for the things we have in common across faiths, birthplaces, races, and backgrounds. Despite what some in Washington, DC say, our shared humanity unites us as one Ohio family.
Said Sy, OHIA’s Organizing Director, “With patience, trust, and hope, we face challenges knowing that Insha Allah, we will be okay.”
Resources
Read Broken Hope: Deportation and the Road Home and view multimedia content in our sensory summary.
Learn about Fulani language and culture, and how the immigration court has systematically failed to protect Black and Muslim immigrants who qualify for asylum.
Download OHIA’s report about Black immigrants in Ohio by Dr. Nana Afua Y, Brantuo, PhD.
Read the Ohio Stands With Immigrants petition, signed by 80 organizations and over 2,500 Ohioans from 69 counties. Add your name here.