Lake Bluff resident Emily MacArthur heard about RefugeeOne, a Chicago-based nonprofit refugee resettlement agency, from a friend who lives in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.
The organization, which also has an office in Waukegan, helps refugees and immigrants, many from war-torn countries, find housing, learn English and find jobs in the Chicago area.
MacArthur, a nurse anesthetist at Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, is a first-generation American herself. Her parents were born in the Philippines. She and her family donated to RefugeeOne to support the resettlement of a refugee family, and they learned a Syrian family with a child would arrive Monday, she said.
But on Saturday, MacArthur found out the family would no longer be coming.
President Donald Trump on Friday issued an executive order indefinitely barring Syrian refugees from entering the country and suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations — Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The order, whose supporters say is designed to secure America against international terrorism, sparked widespread backlash and nationwide protests as travelers, some of them legal permanent residents of the United States, were reportedly detained at airports across the country.
Jims Porter, grants and communications coordinator at RefugeeOne, confirmed that a Syrian family was supposed to arrive in the Chicago area Monday but is no longer coming because of Trump’s executive action.
“Being a first-generation person myself, I am saddened by the negativity that surrounds this decision,” MacArthur said. “I don’t think this is a decision that’s bringing our country closer together. It’s just dividing us further, and it’s disheartening.”
MacArthur was just one of the Lake County residents made uneasy by Trump’s executive order. Religious, nonprofit and political leaders expressed disappointment in the president’s hardline immigration decision and worried that it could perhaps lead to more ill will abroad toward America rather than increased safety at home.
Vaseem Iftekhar, president of the Libertyville-based mosque Islamic Foundation North, worried about the implications of Trump’s action. He said the United States should, “be careful, lest we end up aiding people and helping them with their propaganda.”
“ISIS’ biggest tool is not morality or internationally accepted principles,” Iftekhar said, referring to the Middle East-based terrorist group. “Their tool is propaganda and to divide. We don’t want to give them the ammunition to make propaganda that they could utilize as ‘Muslims versus America.’ This is not about ‘Muslims versus America.’ This is about evil versus the rest of humankind. We cannot degrade ourselves to that level.”
On Monday afternoon, Iftekhar was meeting with his team at Islamic Foundation North, working to put enhanced security measures into place in light of the current political climate and the attack Sunday night at a mosque in Quebec in which gunmen reportedly left six people dead and eight others wounded. Islamic Foundation North has been in contact with local law enforcement authorities, Iftekhar said.
“Muslims love America as much as any other people of faith,” Iftekhar said. “Our children are brought up here. Our future is here.”
Iftekhar noted that one “silver lining” to Trump’s election, rhetoric and actions has been the “unbelievable” support his community has received from “other faith leaders and other common people.” He has received cards and gifts from local residents of various denominations. One card reads, “I would like to offer you my support and solidarity during this difficult time. As a Mexican-American, your struggle hits home and I want you to know that you are valued and loved.”
“This is the America that I know for four decades,” said Iftekhar, a native of India who came to the United States from Pakistan in 1972. “Toleration, religious freedom, civic rights — this is what has made America great.”
Sandy Hart, whose district as a member of the Lake County Board includes Islamic Foundation North, called the mosque “an important part of our community” and said it is “important that all people feel welcome here.”
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“I think (Trump’s order) caused a lot more confusion than was necessary,” Hart said. “And I think if we really want to protect our country against terrorism, I think there’s better ways to achieve it without this blanket order.”
County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor, a Republican, echoed that sentiment and said he has also heard from members of the local Latino community who are concerned about Trump’s immigration policies. The president has pledged to build a wall along America’s southern border and has suggested he would deport undocumented immigrants.
“I’ve spent a lot of time over the past month or so talking to residents in Lake County in English and in Spanish about the importance of us being an inclusive, diverse community,” Lawlor said. “So I think it’s important for the president to recognize that we are a nation of immigrants.”
Lawlor added that the local Muslim community “deserves to be heard from.” He worried certain groups could use Trump’s action “as propaganda in getting more people radicalized.”
“I know business owners and personal friends who have been long been concerned about how a Trump presidency would impact not only their community, but minority voices throughout,” Lawlor said.
At a gathering of county leaders last week focused on equitably improving Lake County residents’ health outcomes, Lawlor responded to an audience question about the fears of Latino and undocumented families by partly answering in Spanish, prompting applause from the crowd.
“We are an inclusive community,” Lawlor said. “I want them to hear that from a local Republican.”
In downtown Waukegan, the Urban Muslim Minority Alliance Center provides a food pantry, a computer lab and other social services to Lake County residents living in poverty. The organization holds a refugee event every year to help support RefugeeOne, said Matthew Kostecki, executive director at the nonprofit.
Despite the group’s name, the Urban Muslim Minority Alliance Center is focused on lifting all residents out of poverty, not just Muslims. But the organization was founded as Muslim and has a special connection to the Muslim community — staffers refer to the group colloquially as “UMMA,” pronounced like the Arabic word “ummah,” or community.
Over the years, Kostecki said, the “stigma” of having “Muslim” in the group’s name has dwindled as the group has grown. Kostecki looks at Trump’s executive action as a sign that “we’re going backward.”
“The United States is for everybody to give anybody a chance,” Kostecki said. “And when you take that away from certain minorities, it’s tough. Or targeting certain minorities, it’s not fair. We’re not known for that. It’s scary.”
Twitter @lucashammill