#GrandparentsNotTerrorists: Twitter criticises Trump’s order defining ‘bona fide’ relationship
Several social media users shared pictures of their grandparents, asking the US president if they seemed like a threat to the country.
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United States President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban, that came into effect on Friday, met with criticism on social media for barring the entry to grandparents. According to the new restrictions, citizens from Libya, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan will have to prove “bona fide relationship” with certain family members in the country. This, however, does not include grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.
The National Iranian American Council launched the hashtag #GrandparentsNotTerrorists to protest the ban. “President Trump’s pathological pursuit of the Muslim ban has reached a new low by targeting grandparents of American children,” the council said in a press release. “There are one million Iranian Americans in the United States and many cannot return home to visit their loved ones…The president is supposed to protect American families, not rip them apart.”
According to the state department, only parents, in-laws, step-parents, children, spouses, sibling and half-siblings are included in “close relationships”. The state department had earlier said fiancés would be also be kept out of the purview of “close” family members, but reversed its decision hours before the ban came into effect.
Several users shared pictures of their grandparents on Twitter questioning the travel ban and its limitations.
My 93-year-old grandmother always showed signs of radicalization as seen here trying to destroy the Taj Mahal.#GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/IikViZwo2I
— Negar Mortazavi (@NegarMortazavi) June 30, 2017
Revised #travelban will #keepamericasafe frm my 97yo #Iranian grandma &her radical belief that all meals need a glass of sherry &a cigarette pic.twitter.com/Sbj3H4pG5a
— Yasmin Radjy (@yasminradjy) June 29, 2017
Does my Iranian grandmother on the left look dangerous to you? Supreme Court action re #MuslimBan is ridiculous #GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/CiKeF1i8Uy
— Maria Afsharian (@MariaAfsharian) June 29, 2017
Many users, who tweeted pictures of their grandparents, asked Trump, “Is this the face of terror?”
Is this the face of terror? #grandparentsnotterrorists pic.twitter.com/Unw4Yu4o4U
— Ala Hashemi-Haeri (@AlaHashemi) June 29, 2017
Hey @realDonaldTrump, does my grandpa look dangerous to you? #GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/zkylDcEd5z
— Mahsa Payesteh (@mo0nbeam) June 29, 2017
This is my lovely grandma. @realDonaldTrump does she look like a terrorist to you? #GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/KkciEWBM1t
— Elham Khatami (@ekhatami) June 29, 2017
These 2 lovely Iranian women are my #GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/m1xU6w05O7
— Shuka Kalantari (@skalantari) July 1, 2017
“This inhumane ban does nothing to add to America’s security. It only creates divisions by turning some Americans into second-class citizens simply because of their ancestry,” NIAC said.
Because Trump doesn't think I have a bonafide relationship with my grandpa.... #GrandparentsNotTerrorists #NoMuslimBan pic.twitter.com/fncoLcLWkQ
— Ida Adibi (@ida_adibi) June 29, 2017
This is my grandmother. This is who @realDonaldTrump and @marcorubio are keeping out of the United States #GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/4hUe5mgQU7
— Shayan Modarres Esq. (@shayanmodarres) June 29, 2017
Is my grandpa a terrorist to you?#GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/pkiewHPu8m
— samantha (@samanthat0723) July 1, 2017
My last day in Iran last year, I asked my grandparents to sing together my fav song. I cry every time I see this.#GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/BUO4pyrYSz
— Nava Mavandadi (@navamavandadi) July 1, 2017
#GrandparentsNotTerrorists
— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) June 30, 2017
No to the #MuslimBan pic.twitter.com/Kkj1hTss3B
I love that I can make tahdig & laugh with my amazing grandma. But the shameful #MuslimBan targets those like her #GrandparentsNotTerrorists pic.twitter.com/9nsJZq7gvF
— Josee Molavi (@jmo416) July 1, 2017
Trump has insisted the ban is to protect the US from terrorism and to allow immigration officials to vet those entering the US more closely, but this has been seen as part of a separate agenda. While campaigning for the presidency, Trump had called for a a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims” entering the US.