You and I have one thing in common: we come from immigrants.

On February 23rd 1989, my family first set foot on American soil. After lifetimes of bearing poverty and discrimination, they finally felt like they came home.

When you think of the word “home” you think of comfort. You do not think of a place where every aspect of your life are negatively affected because of your religion, or a place where having daily necessities be scarce.

America has always been seen as the country that is open to those who wanted to achieve that American dream. She has embraced people who wanted stability, people who wanted better lives, and people who had big dreams.

While some argue that the American dream may not be attainable, I beg to differ. I have been raised with the mindset that if you want something, you can work hard to make that goal a reality. So here I go, taking my first step in working hard to achieve just one of my many goals: to keep America’s arms wide open.

America is the America we know today because of immigrants. It is the country known as the “melting pot.” It is full of various religions and cultures that impact all aspects of life in America. It is because of this abundance of people from around the world that America is the immensely diverse place we know it to be.

The President (who too comes from a family of immigrants), set forth a travel ban, making the idea of achieving the American Dream and finding a true home unattainable for many. This ban prevents people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. It also prevents refugees from entering the country for 120 days, along with stopping Syrian refugees indefinitely.

I myself, a daughter of immigrants, find this ban to be unjust. America has allowed my family members to transform their lives for the better. If it weren’t for America’s open arms I would not have been born in this country, nor would I have the opportunities that this country has to offer.  If people want to migrate to change their lives then they should be able to. In fact, they should be admired for taking this courageous step of leaving what they know behind to start anew.

If it were not for migration the President would have not been born in America either. So how can he, a product of a migration, “throw down the ladder by which (he) rose” (see the classic cartoon by Thomas Nast).

An immigrant is responsible for the architecture of the White House that the President resides in. Another immigrant is responsible for the creation of the light bulbs that illuminate the President’s office. And hundreds of thousands of immigrants are responsible for making the America that the President governs.

So how are we allowed to say that we cannot take any more immigrants in?

How are we allowed to deny people happiness?

How are we allowed to stop people from achieving their dreams?

How?

Well, the answers to those questions is simple: we are not allowed. We must keep being the country that people want to be a part of. We must keep being the country that not only accepts everyone, but allows everyone to thrive. We must keep being the America we always were.