Thoughts on immigration

Dear Editor,

Donald Trump's proposal to ban the immigration of victims of terrorism in countries dominated by Islamic radicals worries me.

Obviously there is a danger of a radical individual traveling with them to the U.S. Still, we need to be compassionate and use good judgment.

Mary Pipher, a psychologist who grew up in Beaver City, Neb., wrote"In the Middle of Everywhere" published by Harcourt in 202.

She reminds readers of the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, written by Emma Lazarus, a Jewish immigrant. Mary reflects on this as she works with schools, social service agencies and homes as a cultural broker, teacher and therapist.

She points out facts about refugees flown to Lincoln, Neb., who were displaced after being raped, tortured and seeing family members and friends killed.

Farsal was a student at a high school where Mary was working as a psychologist. He was born in Iraq, where his father grew cotton, grapes and rice. His family were Kurds. They escaped certain death and almost froze to death hiding in the mountains.

His orientation and adjustment in an American high school was difficult.

Language was a huge barrier for him. In Lincoln, high schools students have to call home to ask permission to do things.

However, since these teens have learned to speak English and their parents don't, the school must trust them to properly explain things.

One boy told his parents that the school required all boys to wear very expensive black leather jackets. They scraped together their minimum wages to buy him the jacket.

These students are generally smart and eager and speak several languages, but score low on ACT tests. It is much harder for them to be accepted into colleges because of this.

Vietnamese refugees cling together and speak English less clearly than Arabic speaking people.

Ritu was in her late 20s, widowed and pregnant. She supported three children. After escaping with her children to a refugee camp in Pakistan, she was raped and was carrying the rapist's baby. (She was a nurse, but in Lincoln, she worked at a minimum wage job.)

Helen Ruth Arnold,

Trenton, Neb.