On Jan. 27, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order that placed temporary travel restrictions on immigrants and refugees from seven countries. The immigration ban barred citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. The ban also prohibited the entrance of refugees for 120 days, and banned Syrian refugees from entering indefinitely.

After the executive order went into effect, many people traveling were detained in U.S. airports. This sparked protests in major cities and airports around the country.

However, on Feb. 3, District Judge James Robart granted a temporary restraining order on the immigration ban, which was later upheld by the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the immigration ban is currently not in effect, the threat of a new ban looms over international students.

“I’ve been getting regular updates from the Office of Global Services at NYU and they had information sessions. At the sessions there were some pretty worried and pissed off people,” wrote Syrian citizen and U.S. green card holder Rosy Tahan, Class of 2018, who is currently studying abroad in New York. “Right now, things seem to be okay, but OGS is still advising us not to leave the country and to consult them if we absolutely have to.”

“I know that green card holders can travel to the U.S. but Trump is really unpredictable, so it is always possible that one summer I will try to come back to the U.S. and be denied,” remarked Syrian citizen and U.S. green card holder Antony Tahan, Class of 2020. “My parents are advising me to check if it's possible to transfer to NYU New York, or in an extreme scenario transfer to another university in Houston.”

Some students were not surprised when the ban came into effect.

“As a first-generation Arab-American from a Muslim family, this ban hasn't really changed my perception of my country,” remarked Shahinaz Geneid, Class of 2020. “The America I have grown up knowing has unfortunately always had problems with racism and Islamophobia, and for me the travel ban was a sad culmination of that troubled history, and yet another frightening reminder that white America is unwelcoming to Middle Eastern immigrants.”

Others were astonished by the developments. “When I first read about it, I could not believe that anything would come of it because I thought, hey, you can’t do that!” wrote Sussan Garcia, Class of 2020. “And what surprised me more was that Homeland Security and TSA officers immediately complied and so did law enforcement. Had the courts not intervened or had they taken longer, it would have continued.”

Some noted that the solidarity that the ban has fostered improved their opinion of the U.S. “Surprisingly, the reaction to the ban by the people and the courts in the U.S. changed my perception of the U.S. in a positive way,” wrote Ali Bahrami, Class of 2020. “I have always been harassed by authorities in airports because of my identity, however, after the ban people hugged Muslims who entered the U.S.. The ban actually brought people together. I am planning to study away in the U.S. and the ban hasn’t affected my decision at all.”

Rosy Tahan echoed Bahrami’s comments. “Being in New York while all of this is happening was honestly been so heartwarming. You can tell that the people are not okay with this, whatever the government might do. I recognize that New York is a liberal bubble that is in no way representative of the U.S. and the state of tolerance in the world today, but I have felt so supported and welcomed here,” said Rosy Tahan.

Now that President Trump is developing a revised immigration ban, the problem is far from resolved. This leaves NYUAD’s educational mission, dependent upon students being able to study abroad, in jeopardy.

“We will continue to pursue vigorously an educational and intellectual mission that embraces an interdependent globe, dissolves prejudice and seeks to build bridges of common understanding and humane purpose across our world,” stated Alfred Bloom, vice chancellor of NYUAD in his Jan. 30 university-wide email.

However, some students are not as optimistic.

“It is a pity ... NYUAD, a university that prides itself on global leadership and study abroad programs, is so inaccessible to Syrians as a result of our inability to travel to most places in the world, including the U.S. now,” wrote Antony Tahan.

For some the travel ban has become a rallying cry.

“For me NYUAD's mission is more important to me now than ever after this. ... we have a responsibility as NYUAD students to counter negative perceptions of foreigners in our own countries and show people that living in a global world is not a frightening concept,” wrote Geneid.

“The anti-globalization trend should only motivate us even more because, if not us then who? Universities like NYU are building the diplomacy of the future and waves of anti-globalization are just tiny roadblocks,” wrote Bahrami.