If you are paying attention to the news, you have likely heard that President Trump signed an order titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” The whole text of this order can be found at the White House press office.

The order is based on the idea that the “United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or … place violent ideologies over American law” in a not-so-subtle reference to Islamic Extremism.

Section 3 of this executive order suspends entrance to several countries in the Middle East for a period of 90 days, with language suggesting that the suspension period will be used to conduct research with the intention of adding countries to a permanent ban list.

The order also requires that new screening processes be developed for screening of immigrants and issuing visas. Furthermore, the refugee program will be suspended for 120 days as well.

While reforming and maintaining national security is an honorable task, this order sets a dangerous precedent. As a result of this, parents of an SMU student were detained in DFW airport.

Often times discussions of national policy take place in the abstract, but the fact that we have a classmate whose parents must have been subjected to extreme fear and detained is not acceptable. We should be a smarter, more compassionate nation than that and I am disappointed in the enforcement of this executive order and the strength of its issuance.

Furthermore, this order has the possibility of affecting us all in the future. If the United States, the land of the free, is behaving this way how can any of us feel safe to travel to another country? This action by the Trump presidency could be a precedent to seize Americans abroad under false or no pretenses.

While change is needed in our country and our security, this is certainly not the change that would be beneficial, helpful or needed.