Ever since the creation of the country, the United States has been looked to as a city on a hill. Every dream, every chance to make it big exists here. People from all over the world travel to America to start new lives and achieve their dreams, free from any kind of persecution or judgement.

At least, that is how it is supposed to work.

In the face of the election of Donald Trump as president, his controversial statements throughout both his candidacy and presidency, America has become a judgemental nation in which no one is safe from persecution.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has made his intent to pursue aggressive tactics against Muslim Americans abundantly clear. In his approach to national security, the president appears to have begun taking drastic steps to prosecute this minority.

The most prominent of these steps is the ban on all Muslim immigration to the United States, which went into effect January of 2017 and again in March. These executive orders banned immigrants from seven, and then six, Muslim-majority nations, as well as halting the refugee program, effectively cutting off all opportunity for these minorities in the so-called “land of opportunity”.

This ban, still in effect a full year later and seeming to be permanent, goes against everything America stands for.

In addition, this ban also perpetuates harmful stereotypes that just cause more bigotry against innocent peoples.

Harmful stereotypes like the ones that cause more hate crimes to be carried out in 2016 than even 2001, according to FBI statistics received from law enforcement organizations around the country.

Despite, in the past, being a land in which immigrants could struggle their way to success and make better lives for themselves and their families, achievement of the American Dream is nearly impossible in our time. We have prevented the spirit of freedom that people were able to attain so long ago.

People like Sylvana De Angelis, grandmother of junior Natalie Hill who immigrated from Italy in the mid to late 20th century in order to make a better life.

“…my nonna is happy,” Hill said. “She’s surrounded by her family in a free country.”

Less than fifty years ago these immigrants would have been able to improve not only their own lives but the lives of their families and the people around them.  

Another Antioch example of an immigrant is Alexandra Roskowiak, the mother of Vincent Roszkowiak.

“…she lived in Romania and it was a communist country.” Roszkowiak said. “Then she moved here and married my dad, and he joined the police force but she stayed home to take care of us.”

This rise from the bottom to the ideal American Life serves as an inspiration to all, despite the discrimination prevalent in our society today.

“The fact that she came from communism to the middle class American life shows that [the American Dream] is attainable,” Roszkowiak.

However, these inspirational stories of success occurred years ago, when the American Dream was still a very obvious reality.

Whether this reality is still achievable today is unclear, but the most important factor is that we, as American continue to uphold the ideals of liberty and justice for all.