Asghar Gholizadeh is an Iranian scholar at Penn State. He came to the U.S. in 2013 to pursue a PhD in civil and environmental engineering on a full ride scholarship. Gholizadeh said coming to the United States was not easy.
“When you migrate from your country, you sell everything you have. You break all of your connections over time," Gholizadeh said. "When you come here, you build a new life. You want to get something out of it.”
Gholizadeh’s wife, Fatameh, moved to State College with her husband. In Iran, she was a dentist. In the U.S., she became a dependent with no work authorization. After a year and a half, Gholizadeh said she simply couldn’t stand it anymore.
“You have to do things to stay healthy," he said. "This is one of the things that happens to dependents. This mental or psychological strain that’s put on dependents has affected my wife in a very serious manner.”
Fatameh became depressed and went back to Iran where she could work and stay with her family. Being apart was hard on their marriage, but Fatameh was doing better and they knew she could still visit a couple of times a year.
That changed on January 27.
President Trump signed an executive order titled "The protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States," or as it was more widely known, the travel ban.
President Trump’s original travel ban halted the immigration and visa processes for seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. A federal judge in Washington state temporarily blocked the executive order, citing the negative impact on universities and academic research nationwide.
The Trump administration issued a revised version of the travel ban on March 6, which was again blocked by judges from Hawaii and Maryland on March 15, the day before it would have taken effect.
This policy turmoil has caused confusion and frustration.
Shoba Wadhia is the director of Penn State’s Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic. She said hundreds of concerned students and scholars have requested legal counsel since the executive orders were signed.
“I think this election followed by these executive orders which, in many ways, provide the written version of certain campaign promises, have instilled a lot of fear, and made people feel unwelcome in our community," Wadhia said. "And I think it’s not limited to internationals at the university but also applied to scholars and faculty or even students and parents in our community.”
According to a report published by a private company, College Factual, there are 227 Penn State students who come from the countries listed on the original travel ban. On the list of public universities that are most likely affected by the travel ban, Penn State ranks fourth.
Because of growing concerns, on February 17, Penn State Provost Nick Jones hosted a town hall for students about how the university would provide support.
“We have been structured, positioned and oriented to serving our students through global programs in a particular way," Jones said. "It’s changed. So, we need to think how we are going to sustain this in the long term.”
When the travel ban was in place, Gholizadeh was determined to go back to Iran because he thought he would never get to see his wife again otherwise. But since the travel ban was blocked, Fatameh was able to come visit in April, after three-month’s delay. Now Gholizadeh is looking for a post-doctoral position in the United States.
“We are in a good shape more or less as long as the EO is not in effect," Gholizadeh said. "But who knows what happens tomorrow?”