AMHERST — For the last five days, Shirin Montazeri and her husband, Mohammad Ghadiri, haven’t been able to do much other than think of what President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration will mean for them.
Both of Iran, the couple have been in Massachusetts for years working toward doctoral degrees in electrical engineering.
Since the order was first leaked before Trump’s signed it Friday, Ghadiri said he’s been feeling a combination of stress and fear and wondering if he made the right choice for his future.
“Did I do the right thing to come here? To spend so much time of my life and then come to this after so long after all the hard work I put in?” he said. “Everything gets into jeopardy in a matter of seconds by a signature of someone that I have no power to choose. I have no say in this but I’m the first person that gets affected.”
Montazeri, 26, of Ahvaz, has been at the university for four years while Ghadiri, 28, of Tehran, has been studying for over six years.
“It is really awful. It’s very terrifying, I was devastated,” Montazeri said. “I couldn’t see what was going to happen to my future.”
The couple hasn’t been home to Iran in years and a planned trip this summer will likely have to wait following the executive order.
What makes the ban hardest to understand, Ghadiri said, was that he didn’t know where this was coming from.
“If there was a situation, maybe, yes you could digest it at least. But now, you are like, we haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “We try to follow every rule, be respectful of the laws in this country.”
In his years of living in Massachusetts, Ghadiri said he hasn’t even received a traffic ticket.
Leading up to the election, Montazeri said she was scared of what would happen.
“They were rumors back then but now they are really happening and it’s just really upsetting,” she said.
At least three people affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst — two international students from Iran and a visiting scholar from Syria — have been unable to enter the country following the executive order, according to college spokesman Ed Blaguszewski.
The executive order “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals,” was signed late Friday afternoon. The order bars refugees from entering the country for 120 days while refugees from Syria have been banned indefinitely. A 90-day ban has also been enacted for any visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
In phone calls home over the last five days, Ghadiri said his parents are just trying to calm him.
“They keep saying it is going to be fine,” he said. “I think in the bottom of their heart, they are stressed as well but they just try to keep us calm and relaxed.”
The culture of acceptance and the quality of the university’s research is what drew the couple to the U.S. and to UMass, according to Ghadiri.
“The culture of acceptance that America has — had — during the past,” he said. “During the past six years, I’ve never seen anything but love from the American people. That is what brought me here.”
Both have about a year left in their studies but agreed that they would try to complete it faster, although knowing they live in a supportive community makes it harder to leave.
“The university has been unbelievably supportive of us. They have done everything they can,” Ghadiri said. “We feel like we are welcomed at UMass. We feel welcomed in the community.”
Leaving the U.S. for a funeral back home in Iran, Maryam Ghodrati’s husband had just arrived when news broke that the executive order had been signed.
“Only within 24 hours the whole country and the whole world was in chaos with only a couple of signatures,” Ghodrati wrote in an email. “No flight would board Iranian passengers that [were] going to the United States.”
Originally from Iran, Ghodrati, a Ph.D. candidate in comparative literature at UMass, has lived with her husband in the U.S. since 2001. A naturalized citizen, Ghodrati’s son was born in the country and her husband, also a doctoral candidate, is in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen.
Her husband, who she asked not be named, left last Thursday to return to Iran for his father’s funeral, Ghodrati wrote in an email. Finally arriving after 24 hours of travel, Ghodrati wrote that her husband received news of the executive order and immediately bought a ticket to return to the U.S.
She told the Boston Globe on Sunday that he flew from Iran to Qatar for a connecting flight to Boston. Upon arrival at Logan Airport, Ghodrati wrote that her husband was detained for four hours before they were reunited.
“We have only begun to see the bigoted and xenophobic policies and laws that are going to be enforced,” she wrote. “We are responsible for every single sigh and cry of the children who are victims of our ignorant and chauvinist politicians.”
At UMass, Kalpen Trivedi, executive director of the International Programs Office, and International Student & Scholar Services Director Ken Reade said in an email Monday that the office has “been working non-stop the last 72 hours to understand and interpret the new regulation and to provide appropriate advice and guidance across campus.”
The office has been communicating with students individually and collectively all weekend and has been working closely with various stakeholders across campus to make sure that the impact of these changes is properly understood and communicated, according to the email.
“International students are deeply concerned, but they are also determined to continue their lives and their academic pursuits to the best of their abilities,” the pair wrote. “They are keen to engage these debates publicly and support their compatriots who are affected by the Executive Action.”
UMass has more than 3,000 international students, scholars and staff from 117 countries. The campus has 77 Iranian nationals under immigration sponsorship, including one undergraduate, 72 graduate students and four scholars. The university also sponsors two graduate students from Syria and one graduate student from Sudan, according to the statement.
“Our international faculty, students and staff are deeply valued members of the UMass Amherst community,” Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy said in a statement. “As we grapple with many fundamental questions that go to the heart of our ideals as Americans and our role in the world, I want to make clear that we will do everything within our legal and moral authority to protect our community members, no matter their national origin, race, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual identity or immigration status.”
Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash sent out a message to the college community Monday afternoon about the ban. In the statement, Lash said the college was not aware of any Hampshire students affected by the ban and that it remained unclear how these directives would be implemented.
“We are profoundly enriched by international voices and experiences on our campus — intellectually, culturally, and morally. We have always encouraged our students to take advantage of opportunities that promote global awareness and insight, and have invited international students and employees to strengthen our curriculum and understanding,” Lash wrote. “We are greatly diminished by actions that seek to discriminate against and demonize others. As an institution, Hampshire must adhere to legal boundaries, but to the extent possible it is incumbent on all of us to support and protect our colleagues and classmates who are at risk. This is a time that calls for openness, integrity, and compassion.”
At Smith College Monday evening, a forum on immigration law post-inauguration drew more than 400 people to the Weinstein Auditorium. Even after the 5 p.m. start time, students and other ocmmunity members were still filing into the already crowded auditorium.
Megan Kludt, an attorney with Curran & Berger LLP, a firm that specializes in immigration law, spoke to the packed auditorium for about 30 minutes on what is known now about the executive orders relating to immigration. Following the presentation she answered questions from the crowd, many worried about their own status.
The college of about 2,500 has more than 350 international students.
“There is somebody who does understand immigration law really well and they are trying to find every way to get around these protections,” Kludt said of the order. “I want to give you reasons for hope but only a little bit because I just don’t know what I’m going to see tomorrow.”
Kludt urged those from one of the seven countries Trump named, as well as those from other countries, to not travel.
“I can’t be sure that people are going to be safe and able to return,” she said. “Expect the unexpected. If you are not a citizen … keep watching the news.”
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.