By staff writer Zeno Zacks

On January 28, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to instate a travel ban against people entering the U.S. from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Iran. In spite of coming on the heels of his campaign promise to temporarily block Muslims from entering the U.S., Trump maintains that the executive order is not a ban on Muslim immigration.

U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson effectively put a halt to the revised travel ban in March by issuing a temporary restraining order that he has since extended. Trump says that the order is meant to ban terrorists, but the countries that were banned have not produced terrorists who have attacked America in the past. Other countries not included in the order, like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have been linked to terrorists who have attacked the U.S., most notedly the World Trade Center attack in 2001.

The travel ban inspired mass protests in London, New York, and Washington, D.C., among other cities. Meanwhile, the executive order has drawn both criticism and praise from Bay Farm School students.

Gael Page, a Bay Farm 7th grader, believes the executive order isn’t racist and could in fact make the U.S. safer. “This is necessary because there could be terrorists from 9/11,” he said. “It’s like when World War II ended, there were still Nazis. Terrorists might try to get into America by acting normal.”

A 7th grade student felt otherwise. “Immigrants should be let in and Trump is banning the wrong countries,” she said.