A Qualitative Study of Florida Institute of Technology International Students’ Perceptions and Their Reactions to President Donald J

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A Qualitative Study of Florida Institute of Technology International Students’ Perceptions and Their Reactions to President Donald J. Trump’s Political Discourse on Immigration and to Florida Institute of Technology’s Response to President Trump’s Executive Orders

Elma G. Molina

A thesis submitted to the School of Arts and Communication at Florida Institute of Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science in Global Strategic Communication

Melbourne, Florida May, 2018

We the undersigned committee hereby approve the attached thesis “A Qualitative Study of Florida Institute of Technology International Students’ Perceptions and Their Reactions to President Donald J. Trump’s Political Discourse on Immigration and to Florida Institute of Technology’s Response to President Trump’s Executive Orders” by Elma G. Molina.

______Dzmitry Yuran, Ph.D., Committee Chair Assistant Professor School of Arts and Communication

______Jessica Wildones, Ph.D. Associate Professor School of Psychology

______H.H. Edwards, Ph.D. Associate Head School of Arts and Communication

______R. Taylor, Ph.D. Associate Dean and Head School of Arts and Communication

Abstract

Title: A Qualitative Study of Florida Institute of Technology International Students’ Perceptions and Their Reactions to President Donald J. Trump’s Political Discourse on Immigration and to Florida Institute of Technology’s Response to President Trump’s Executive Orders

Author: Elma G. Molina

Advisor: Dzmitry Yuran, Ph.D.

This study investigates the meaning international students at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) gave to candidate and President Donald J. Trump’s political discourse on immigration; along with their reaction to FIT’s response to President Trump’s executive orders, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States. In conducting a qualitative study, a series of one-on-one interviews were held with voluntary participants. The researcher discovered FIT international students sought out a variety of news sources in order to stay informed of not only local news, but also international news, particularly news pertaining to their regional area of origin. The data also determined that this group of international students found President Trump’s political discourse divisive as they had been personally affected by his presidential executive orders. Nonetheless, they stated FIT’s response to the executive orders met their needs, making them feel supported in providing them with a sense of belonging. As a result, they planned to continue enrollment at FIT and expressed an interest in participating in the Optional Practical Training program after they completed their course of study at the university.

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Table of Contents Acknowledgement ...... vi Dedication ...... vii Subjectivity ...... viii Introduction ...... 1 Literature Review...... 5

U.S. Immigration at the End of the 19th and Turn of the 20th Century ..... 5 Presidential Acclamation for a Nation of Nations ...... 10 The Ratification of the U.S. Constitution and Immigration Reform...... 11 Immigration Reform in the 19th and 20th Century ...... 12 Comprehensive Immigration Reform at the End of the 20th Century ..... 16 Immigration Reform Did Not Prevent “9/11” ...... 19 DACA and DAPA ...... 23 Donald J. Trump Decides to Run for President ...... 25 The Twittersphere ...... 27 Bully Tactics ...... 29 Trump’s Continued Anti-Immigration Stance ...... 30 The Electoral Vote and Not the Popular Vote Wins the 2016 Election ... 30 Breaking News or Diversionary Tactics? ...... 32 Trump’s Travel Ban and Tweets as Official White House Statements ... 34 Travel Ban Impact ...... 37 FIT Administration’s Response to the Travel Ban ...... 42 The International Student Experience ...... 44

Methodology ...... 48 Participant Data Analysis ...... 57 Discussion and Findings ...... 59 Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research ...... 102 References ...... 105 Appendix A: Institutional Review Board Approval ...... 134 Appendix B: Participant Consent Form ...... 137 Appendix C: Participant Consent Form Signature Page ...... 140 Appendix D: FIT Staff Consent Form ...... 141 Appendix E: FIT Staff Consent Form Signature Page ...... 144 Appendix F: Student Interview Guide ...... 145 Appendix G: FIT Staff Interview Guide ...... 147 Appendix H: E-mail to International Students ...... 149

Appendix I: Flyer Posted on Campus Announcement Boards ...... 150 Appendix J: Flyer Disseminated Within FIT Classrooms ...... 151 Appendix K: Participant Assigned Pseudonyms ...... 152

Acknowledgement

This project could not have been completed without the Florida Institute of Technology international students who chose to voluntarily participate in this study. I am grateful for their willingness to share their individual stories. Thank you to the faculty and staff of the FIT Communications Department, the Office of Graduate Programs, John H. Evans Library, the Florida Tech Copy Center, and of course, my friends and colleagues in this program. Each provided customer service and support to me and to this endeavor.

Dedication

This is dedicated to Ma y Dad (married 67 years; Dad may you RIP (16 April 2018); their migrant lifestyles ceased when their children were old enough to attend school. Their deep-seated Christian faith set the tone for our life’s journey. This work is also dedicated to my siblings, Ben (Retired, U.S. Air Force; my guide post), Robert (U.S. Marines; Semper Fi), Irene (U.S. Army; my best friend, my mentor, my north star), Rudy (U.S. Air Force; my Rescuer (“8”); family comedian), Roy (U.S. Army; family man), Hector (Mr. Hazel Eyes; my childhood constant companion), and Raul (U.S. Air Force); to my sisters-in-law, Lydia (Retired, U.S. Air Force), Dina (thank you for sanctuary and nourishment), and Ruth Elaine (our Spanish instructor), family-focused, strong women; to all my Molina nieces and nephews, you make life fun and interesting; to Omi (RIP Omi, 7 May 2018) and Tante Helga, hearts of gold, legendary and classy ladies; to Lea and Kristen, I wish you well always; and finally, to my daily rays of sunshine, “Ma seule raison de vivre,” Clara (my Babydoll) and Andrew (my Snugglebear), always remember and never forget, MLY; Abba Father.

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Subjectivity

As a child of Hispanic heritage and reared in northwest Texas, I did not speak English until the age of five when I learned it in kindergarten. I was born into a migrant, predominantly Spanish-speaking community. As a child of migrant farm workers, I vividly recall walking behind older siblings who carried hoes for miles upon miles, row after row in the hot, northwest Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and

Colorado summer heat; where they cleared cotton, soybean, corn, and sugar beet fields of weeds to improve crop production. To this day, I have vivid memories of hearing shouts cried out across those fields: “Allí viene la migra!” and seeing grown men drop their hoes and run across the fields in an attempt to outrun immigration agents. Standing in the sweltering summer heat, as I watched the men running and leaping over uneven rows of cotton plants, I recall mentally questioning why some ran and others did not? Those who did not run stood their ground and looked in despair upon the unfolding scene as they watched the men captured and hauled across the field into waiting vehicles. Once the scene concluded, everyone simply returned to their work. A heavy silence replaced the previous chatter of chisme, bromas, and canciónes.

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The entire affair did not make sense to me, as every person working in that field had brown skin and spoke Spanish. How were the immigration agents able to determine who was and who was not documented? I also wondered what was going to happen to these men? What about their families? At that age, I did not understand what caused strong men to crumble and run, when all they were seemingly doing was committing themselves to a life of hard labor in order to improve their own lives and those of their families.

With these images in mind during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, I could not help but wonder what the immigrant community thought about,

Republican candidate for U.S. President, Donald J. Trump’s rhetoric on immigration. As a retired U.S. Air Force officer and educated adult, I completely understand the necessity for proper documentation when traveling abroad, particularly in today’s global travel environment. I also, however, recognize the disparity which exists between travelers who have the financial resources and access to a U.S. Embassy or Consulate and those who do not have the same resources or access to officially request a travel visa. I imagine many of the people, who have traveled across the South American, Central American, and Mexican desert to enter the United States as undocumented immigrants, did so because they lacked the financial or human capital to acquire an official travel visa. They simply stepped away from their life of depravity and traveled to the United States to find ix

new resources to support their families, as has been the score for generations upon generations.

My parents were immigrants1. However, like many Americans, it is not known how many generations ago family members arrived in the United States. My father used to tell me his family resided in the part of Mexico that was annexed by the United States and is now the state of Texas. Therefore, we were always proud

“Tejanos.” While this study is not about my heritage, it goes without saying, we are a product of our roots. Borders are important as they establish political and economic boundaries. However, as demonstrated by my second-grade educated parents and exquisitely stated by Mother Teresa of Calcutta:

1 My father’s surname, Molina, is believed to have originated in Spain. It is a prolific name, as it is found throughout parts of Europe. For example, there is an entire region in Italy named Molina. It is also a Portuguese surname. Molina can be found in the United States, Mexico, South and Central America, and the Philippine Islands. All, not coincidentally, are geographical locations where the Spaniards landed. It is the surname of immigrants from across our world. Now that my divorce has concluded, I am taking back my heritage and returning to my maiden name, Molina. This is the reason the surname of the point of contact on the research / study materials (found within the Appendices) is different from the cover, signature, and abstract pages. [“EJ” is my nickname].

“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and

homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the

greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes [communities] to remedy

this kind of poverty.”

As a child of migrant farm working parents, who had a deep-seated faith in education as an opportunity for advancement, I also wondered what the international students, who voluntarily elected to come to the United States to pursue an advanced education, thought about Republican candidate and then,

President Donald J. Trump’s political discourse on immigration. Simultaneously, I was curious to know whether they felt the Florida Institute of Technology was administering to their needs as student immigrants in opposition to President

Trump’s divisive discourse.

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Introduction

This study was conducted Spring semester 2017 at the Florida Institute of

Technology (FIT) main campus, Melbourne, Florida, United States of America.

The researcher was interested in discovering whether FIT international students were familiar with the political discourse on immigration as communicated by

Donald J. Trump. Specifically, starting from when Donald J. Trump became the

Republican candidate for president and his continued discourse on this subject, upon having been elected on November 8, 2016 as the President of the United

States of America. If the international students interviewed indicated they were familiar with Donald J. Trump’s discourse on immigration, the students were then asked if they took this discourse into consideration when thinking about their continued enrollment at FIT or subsequent participation in the Optional Practical

Training (OPT) program2. An additional facet of this study was an interest in

2 Additional information can be found at: https://www.uscis.gov/working-united- states/students-and-exchange-visitors/students-and-employment/optional-practical- training

2 international students’ perspectives on the presidential executive orders signed by

President Trump on January 27 and March 6, 2017, Protecting the Nation from

Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States (Executive Order No. 13,769, 2017;

Executive Order No. 13,780, 2017). Although subsequent executive orders on this subject have been signed by President Trump, at the time of this study these were the orders that had thus far been executed3.

After asking students for their perceptions on President Trump’s discourse on immigration and the executive orders which banned people from certain countries from traveling to the United States, the interviews delved further into students’ perceptions of FIT administration’s response to this narrative. That is to say, did the meaning students derived from FIT’s response, to President Trump’s discourse on immigration and his subsequent signing of the executive orders,

3Additional information can be found at: Presidential Executive Order No. 13769, signed on January 27, 2017, (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/02/01/2017-02281/protecting- the-nation-from-foreign-terrorist-entry-into-the-united-states), and No. 13780, signed on March 6, 2017 (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/03/09/2017-04837/protecting- the-nation-from-foreign-terrorist-entry-into-the-united-states), Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.

3 correspond to FIT’s welcome message which advocates campus cultural diversity

(“Welcome to Florida Tech,” n.d.)?

There are many more factors when considering the reasons why international students might refrain from continued enrollment (acculturation, finances, grades, personal or family member health issues, change in personal aspirations, etc.). This researcher recognizes assessing and analyzing students’ perceptions does not guarantee eventual action students will take as their eventual decisions are based on a layered thought process (Hazen & Alberts, 2006, p. 201).

This does, however, provide FIT administration insight into a purposive sample group (Guetterman, 2015, p. 3; Robinson, 2014, p. 32) of international students’ awareness of political discourse on immigration as communicated by Donald J.

Trump, and their perceived reaction to such discourse.

Additionally, this study provides FIT administration insight on whether these students acknowledge FIT administration as supportive to their plight as international students in this “age of Trump” (Bhattacharyya, 2017; Rose-Redwood

& Rose-Redwood, 2017, p. I). Students’ sense of belonging is a factor in establishing continued affiliation with the university (Glass & Westmont, 2013, p.

116). This factor is pre-supposed in a foundational study by Baumeister and Leary

(1995, p. 499), which established the psychological necessity to belong to a group of people who cares about one’s welfare. Enrollment in a university automatically

4 thrusts students into a group dynamic, however it becomes incumbent on the university to ensure their welfare and in so doing, establish a sense of belonging for these international academic sojourners.

The importance of this study is based on the percentage of international students enrolled at FIT. In 2011, FIT had an international student enrollment rate of 17 percent (The Yale Daily News Staff, 2011, pp. 175-176). In 2017, the percentage of international students enrolled at FIT had risen to 33 percent (U.S.

News and World Report, 2017). During the 2016-2017 school year, FIT was ranked number one, out of 265 national universities, for having the highest percentage of international students enrolled, based on total student population (2017). The international student enrollment percentage can be considered a direct reflection of

FIT’s mission statement which can be found on the university’s website. FIT is committed to providing “high quality-education to a culturally diverse student body in order to prepare students entering a global workforce” (“Welcome,” n. d.,

Mission section, para. 1).

This study was conducted by utilizing the qualitative research methodology tool, “the interview” (Beitin, 2012, p. 243; Castillo-Montoya, 2016; Chenail, 2011, pp. 255-256; DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006, pp. 314-315; Fontana & Frey,

2000, pp. 652-656; Hiller & DiLuzio, 2004; Knox and Burkhard, 2009, p. 3;

McCracken, 1998; Mero-Jaffe, 2011, p. 232; Patton, 2015, pp. 421-517; Rubin &

Rubin, 2012; Seidman, 2013). International students enrolled at FIT’s main campus voluntarily participated in individual, one-on-one, interviews. The details, of the research process, findings, and discussion, follow herein.

Literature Review

U.S. Immigration at the End of the 19th and Turn of the 20th Century

“‘Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she with silent lips.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free, the

wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-

tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door” (Lazarus, 1883).

This partial inscription, the sum of which was penned by Miss Emma

Lazarus in 1883 to help raise funds to build the pedestal upon which the Statue of

Liberty would rest, was not added to the statue until 1903; sixteen years after Ms.

Lazarus’ death. “Without fanfare,” the poem was added to an internal wall of the pedestal on which had become the permanent residence of the Statue of Liberty.

France had presented the Statue of Liberty to the United States, in 1886, as a sign of friendship. The Statue of Liberty, or “Lady Liberty” as she is often referred to, is

9 located on Liberty Island, New York Harbor, United States of America (National

Park Service, 2017).

Ms. Lazarus’ inscription had historically been considered America’s motto, whereas the United States was conceived as a nation of nations; a nation of immigrants. At times considered clichéd (Goodman, 2015, p. 7), this motto ostensibly represents a welcome to all people from all nations. The reasons for immigrating to America ranged from religious persecution and political oppression to economic hardship (Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty [Brochure], 2017;

Kennedy, 1964, p. 7).

Just a few years after Lazarus’ inscription had been added to the Statue of

Liberty, the premise that America offered a welcoming beacon to people from all nations was captured in the theatrical play, “The Melting Pot” (Zangwill, 1909).

The “melting pot,” as presented by Zangwill, was a call for immigrants to meld into a uniquely American culture; in essence, to leave behind their originating country’s religious and political views and subscribe to a new and unified American conformation (Painter, 2010, pp. 242-244). Thus, the reference, “the melting pot,” became iconic to America and its multi-cultural framework. Upon attending the play in Washington DC, United States President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed his support for this American ideal by shouting out, “that’s a great play, Mr.

Zangwill, that’s a great play” (Leftwich, 1957, p. 252). This was not, obviously, a

10 new ideology. At its roots, America was an “idealistic notion of personal and political freedom” (Davetian, 2009/2014, p. 212).

Presidential Acclamation for a Nation of Nations

A half-century later in a book published posthumously, U.S. President John

F. Kennedy repeated Zangwill’s sentiment when he referred to the United States as

“a nation of nations” (Kennedy, 1964, p. 1). Kennedy verbally illustrated the plight immigrants underwent in their attempt to reach America’s shoreline in order to establish a new homeland for themselves and their families (1964, pp. 4-63).

Additionally, Kennedy gave credence to America being America as a result of the immigrant population (1964, p. 64). Had immigrants remained within their own countries’ borders and not contributed the multi-faceted aspects of their own cultures to the ongoing formation of America, “America would not be America”

(1964, pp. 65-68). The famously historical contributions made by well-known immigrants, such as Alexander Hamilton (West Indian), Andrew Carnegie (Scot),

Alexander Graham Bell (Scot) and Albert Einstein (German) [just to name a few], are noted by Kennedy as indispensable to the development of America’s religious, political, and economic character (1964, pp. 65-66).

The Ratification of the U.S. Constitution and Immigration Reform

In addition to President Kennedy’s propensity for ascribing immigration as the premise for America’s national foundation, historically, immigration colloquy has been nuanced by the United States’ political, economic, domestic and global social stance. In reviewing U.S. chronology, since the establishment of a free and unified nation, the three branches of the U.S. federal government have attempted to address both documented and undocumented immigrants. The first instance occurred 14 years after ratification of the 1776 U.S. Constitution when Congress enacted the 1790 Naturalization Act. This Act stated only “free white” people were eligible to become naturalized American citizens (Pew Research Center, 2015;

Takacs, 1999, pp. 595-596). Although considered “white” in skin color, Irish- and

Italian-Catholics and Jews were, during periods of U.S. history, not considered to be of the white race (Painter, 2010, pp. 132-150; pp. 383-396). Southern and eastern Europeans, although also white in skin color, were often also not considered as part of the white race (Fox & Guglielmo, 2012, p. 328; Painter, 2010, p. 326). Legislatively mandated and therefore legally binding, “white as a race” was a social construction rather than a scientific prescription, driven by “power, privilege and oppression” (Dawkins, 2017, pp. 21-162; Gabaccia, 2010; Graham,

1997; Haney-Lopez, 1996; Lukaskik, 2017; Painter, 2010; Scarr, 1993, p. 1348;

Shields & Bhatia, 2009, p. 117; Tehranian, 2000, p. 818).

Immigration Reform in the 19th and 20th Century

The American Civil War (1861-1865) resulted in the death of approximately 750,000 people (Hacker, 2011, p. 348). Consequently, immigration laws tended to address post-Civil War labor shortages. Even so, discriminatory laws made it a felony to contract Asian laborers, banned Chinese laborers from immigrating altogether, and authorized deportation of non-documented people of

Chinese origin (Ghezelbash, 2017, p. 239; Pew Research Center, 2015). People of

Chinese origin were permitted to remain if documented, however, were not permitted to become naturalized citizens. Post-Civil War, African-born natives and their descendants were permitted to become naturalized citizens (Pew Research

Center, 2015).

Moving forward into the 20th century, the 1924 Labor Appropriation Act erected the U.S. Border Patrol as a federal law enforcement agency and combined with the 1924 Immigration Act, jointly served to restrict immigration from

America’s southern borders and continued to exclude Asia (specifically adding

Japan to the list). The 1924 Act forbade immigration from countries other than northern and western Europe (Pew Research Center, 2015). Once again in

America’s legislative history, the 1924 Immigration Act emphasized race as a requisite for obtaining U.S. citizenship. That is to say “only whites or people of

African nativity or descent were eligible” (Pew Research Center, 2015). Hindus were denied entry based on the 1923 Supreme Court verdict on United States versus Bhagat Singh Thind, which ruled that Hindus [albeit, a religion and not a race] were Asians and therefore ineligible for naturalization (Craver, 2009, p. 30;

Daniels, 2004, p. 95). “To be a proper American in the 1920s implied an identity of white, middle/working class, non-union, English-speaking Christian [Protestant]”

(Wood, 2014, p. 278). This legislation also gave prominence to the Ku Klux Klan

(KKK) which had been re-established in 1915 (Painter, 2010, p. 324). With an estimated “five million members,” the KKK went after “Katholics, Kikes, and

Koloreds” (“Catholics, Jews, and Black people”; although, this list is not all- inclusive, as they also attacked “foreigners, members of organized labor, and any women they judged to be ‘loose’”) (McVeigh, 1999, p. 1464; Painter, 2010, p.

324).

During World War II (1939-1945), to compensate for U.S. labor shortages, the United States negotiated with Mexico [border runs from California to Texas across the U.S. southern region] on guaranteed wages and living conditions for

Mexicans who entered the United States (Daniels, 2004, pp. 89-90). Known as the

Bracero Program, Mexicans were hired to work in predominantly agricultural

14 fields, but found their labor was also needed in mining, railroad building, and manufacturing (2004, p. 89).

In 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) was codified into law

(H.R. 5678, 82nd Cong., 2 sess., 1952). The INA gathered and codified previously existing regulations and restructured the body of immigration law. Prior to the INA, several statutes had been enacted, however, they were not centrally organized.

Within this revision and for the first time in U.S. history, the INA prohibited race as a reason for non-approval of immigration and eventual naturalization; Asian countries were admitted, although presented with only 100 visas per year (Pew

Research Center, 2015). Additionally, evaluation criteria which served as reasons for exclusion and potential deportation were added; these were “political activities, ideology, and mental health”; quota preferences for skilled immigrants and family reunification were established (2015). For the first time in U.S. history, foreigners were legally permitted to study full-time at educational institutions in the United

States (Ruiz, 2014, p. 4). While the 1920s and 1950s were historic periods of

“xenophobia, expressed in restrictive and sometimes cruel immigration policies”

(Anzovin, 1985, pp. 5-6; Zogby, 2018, p. 1), in the ensuing years, alterations to the

INA did address the needs of refugees and asylum seekers arriving from countries torn apart by civil war; immigrants seeking recourse from despotic countries which had fallen to communism, religious persecution, criminal gang and drug infestation,

15 and economic implosion (Acer & Byrne, 2017, p. 356; Derwinski, 1983, p. 51; Pew

Research Center, 2015).

An overhaul of the 1952 INA occurred when sitting at the base of the Statue of Liberty located on Liberty Island, State of New York, President Lyndon B.

Johnson signed into law the 1965 Immigration Naturalization Act (Johnson, 1965;

Ludden, 2006, para. 5). There are a few quotes of significance to cull from

President Johnson’s historic speech:

 This bill that we will sign today is not a revolutionary bill. It does not

affect the lives of millions. It corrects a cruel and enduring wrong in the

conduct of the American Nation (Johnson, 1965, para. 4 & 5).

 It will not reshape the structure of our daily lives, or really add

importantly to either our wealth or our power (1965, para. 3).

 This bill says simply that from this day forth those wishing to immigrate

to America shall be admitted on the basis of their skills and their close

relationship to those already here (1965, para. 10).

 Under that system [1924 Act] the ability of new immigrants to come to

America depended upon the country of their birth. Only three countries

were allowed to supply 70 percent of all the immigrants (1965, para.

13).

 We can now believe that it [the system established by the 1924 Act] will

never again shadow the gate to the American Nation with the twin

barriers of prejudice and privilege (1965, para. 19).

 And today we can all believe that the lamp of this grand old lady is

brighter today--and the golden door that she guards gleams more

brilliantly in the light of an increased liberty for the people from all the

countries of the globe (1965, para. 41).

Whereas, The Immigration Act of 1924 had established country of origin quotas, the 1965 Immigration Naturalization Act eliminated such quotas, discontinuing the practice of giving preference to immigrants from western Europe and instead giving sway to immigrants from Latin America and Asia (Kim, 2007, p. 470). President Johnson could not know, at the time he signed this Act into law as a complement to President John F. Kennedy’s civil rights platform, that this law would, in just a few short decades, “change the face of the United States” (Chishti,

Hipsman, & Ball, 2015, para. 2; Kim, 2007, p. 470; Ludden, 2006).

Comprehensive Immigration Reform at the End of the 20th Century

In response to resulting consequences of the 1965 INA, the Immigration

Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) was signed into law by President Ronald

Reagan; at the time stating, “[this] is [the] most comprehensive reform of our

17 immigration laws since 1952” (Reagan, 1986, para. 1). IRCA was to address employment of illegal immigrants and their financial drain on social welfare programs (Mitchell, 1989, p. 177). IRCA also addressed the concern where in the past, while it had been illegal for immigrants to be in the United States without proper documentation, it was not, however, illegal for U.S. employers to hire undocumented workers (1989, p. 181; Reagan, 1986, para. 2). In hiring undocumented workers, employers had been known to take advantage of these workers by refusing to pay them for earned wages (López, 2005, p. 307).

Immigrants, based on their undocumented status, had little expectation of restitution as they were caught between labor and immigration laws (López, 2005, p. 303). To address this concern, IRCA placed the onus on employers to ensure personnel hired were in fact U.S. citizens or were in the process of becoming U.S. citizens (Mitchell, 1989, p. 181; Reagan, 1986, para. 3). The U.S. Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C.) was involved in several cases on behalf of undocumented immigrants seeking employment restitution since one of

IRCA’s provisions was “amnesty for illegal aliens who have resided in the states since January 1, 1982” (Mitchell, 1989, p. 177). Of note, when the United States gained independence from Britain, it retained the word alien as the judicial term for immigrant (Gabaccia, 2010, p. 12). One key statement made by President Reagan, at the implementation of IRCA, was his recognition of undocumented immigrants

18 from across the globe and not just from the United States’ neighboring countries

[Canada and Mexico]:

Distance has not discouraged illegal immigration to the United States from

all around the globe. The problem of illegal immigration should not,

therefore, be seen as a problem between the United States and its neighbors.

Our objective is only to establish a reasonable, fair, orderly, and secure

system of immigration into this country and not to discriminate in any way

against particular nations or people (Reagan, 1986, para. 17).

In his 1996 State of the Union Address, and just over three decades after

President John F. Kennedy’s dictum, “America is a nation of nations,” President

William J. Clinton stated, “We are still a nation of immigrants ... but we are also a nation of laws” (Clinton, 1996, para. 58). This was a response to the 1994 implementation of the North Atlantic American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which “not only opened Mexican markets to U.S. goods and services,” but also caused a wave of undocumented laborers to enter the United States (Argote-Freyre

& Bellitto, 2012, p. 800; Takac, 1999, p. 592). As a result, President Clinton’s

19 administration followed through with the enactment of The Illegal4 Immigration

Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) (Pew Research Center, 2015).

The IIRIRA ordered the building of fences at high immigrant entry points along the

United States southwestern border; imposed deportation of immigrants having committed crimes; established or revised measures for worksite enforcement; and tightened requirements for entry eligibility (Cornelius, 2005, p. 777; Macías-Rojas,

2018; Pew Research Center, 2015).

Immigration Reform Did Not Prevent “9/11”

Adding additional security measures to prevent illegal immigration via

America’s southwestern and northern borders obviously did nothing to prevent the destruction of the U.S. World Trade Towers on September 11th, 2001 (“9/11”)

“when 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the U.S.” (History, n.d., para. 1).

4In conducting research for this paper, several of the authors reviewed took issue with the reference “illegal” immigrant stating “people are not illegal.”

Prior to 9/11, Mexican President Vincente Fox had promoted “an open U.S-

Mexico border” which would permit laborers to move freely between borders and thus create a “north American community” (Adelman, 2002, p. 21; Andreas, 2003, p. 1). On February 27th, 2001, in a parallel tone to that of President Fox and in his initial address to the joint session of the 107th Congress, President George W. Bush positively surmised:

America has a window of opportunity to extend and secure our present

peace by promoting a distinctly American internationalism. We will work

with our allies and friends to be a force for good and a champion of

freedom. We will work for free markets, free trade and freedom from

oppression. Nations making progress toward freedom will find America is

their friend. We will promote our values. We will promote the peace (Bush,

2001, p. 32).

Then, as though in a foreshadowing of America’s history, in an April 2001 speech presented on “Days of Remembrance” addressing past human atrocities,

President Bush made the following remarks:

Their crimes show the world that evil can slip in and blend in, amid the

most civilized of surroundings. In the end, only conscience can stop it, and

moral discernment and decency and tolerance. These can never be assured

in any time or in any society. They must always be taught (Bush, 2001, p.

48).

Instead, the opportunity to “extend and secure peace and promote internationalism” was removed from the political equation when, as a result of and in response to the

9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, President Bush declared a “war on terror” against the “axis of evil,” (Bush, 2001, pp. 57-58; Bush, 2001, pp. 87-88; Bush,

2002, pp. 106, 110, 113; Bush, 2002, pp. 129, 132; Bush, 2003, p. 158; Bush, 2004, p. 197; Bush, 2005, pp. 287, 290; Bush, 2006, pp. 388-389; Bush, 2006, pp. 406,

411, 417, 421, 422; Bush, 2006, p. 424; Bush, 2007, pp. 447, 454; Bush, 2007, pp.

467, 472; Bush, 2008, p. 553; Bush, 2008, pp. 603, 606, 607; Fusman, 2013, p.

129). In a post-9/11 U.S. nationwide poll, “68% of those polled” indicated border security and immigration laws had not been sufficient and therefore allowed for the admission of terrorists (Adelman, 2002, p. 15). Consequently, instead advocating for open borders, much of President Bush’s first-term in office was spent in ensuring America’s borders were secure and in implementing more stringent immigration policies and procedures. As an example, along what had once been the longest unsecure U.S. border, the United States and Canadian border quickly evolved into a security barrier with the immediate incorporation of 600 additional border agents and increased personnel and vehicle security checks (Adelman, 2002, p. 20; Andreas, 2003, p. 1).

Although, the “war on terror” continued to reign over the course of

President Bush’s presidential tenure, in May 2006, in “An Address to the Nation on

Immigration,” he stated the following:

We cannot build a unified country by inciting people to anger, or playing on

anyone’s fears, or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain. We

must always remember that real lives will be affected by our debates and

decisions, and that every human being has dignity and value no matter what

their citizenship papers say (Bush, 2006, p. 375).

While he continued to oppose amnesty for undocumented immigrants, as “amnesty would encourage further illegal immigration, and unfairly reward those who break our laws,” he instead advocated for a temporary worker program which allowed for a path to eventual U.S. citizenship. In doing so, he recognized the “millions of hardworking men and women” who had moved into the “shadows of American life” post-9/11 (Bush, 2003, p. 206; Bush, 2007, p. 465). In stating “every human being has dignity and value no matter what their citizenship papers say,” President

Bush acknowledged what scholars deemed to be “the influence that the September

11 attacks had on [negative] attitudes towards immigrant groups” (Hitlan, Zárate, &

Aikman, 2007, p. 136). Ultimately, as a result of unfolding global events, President

Bush’s immigration principles revolved around family reunification; immigrants with in-demand labor skills; protection of refugees; and immigrant diversity by

23 country of origin, in continuance of America’s ideological “melting pot” characterization (Alarcón, 2011, p. 188; Bush, 2007, p. 465; Pew Research Center,

2015).

DACA and DAPA

As a Senator from the State of Illinois, Barack Hussein Obama’s approach to immigration revolved around three key concepts: “border security, employer accountability, and earned citizenship” (Dorsey & Díaz-Barriga, 2006, p. 96). Upon accepting the presidential torch from President Bush, President Obama carried these concepts on immigration with him into the White House. It was not however, until re-election for a second term in office, that he made the “decision not to enforce the removal provisions of the [existing] Immigration and Nationality Act

(INA) against an estimated population of 800,000 to 1.76 million individuals illegally present in the United States” (Argote-Freyre & Bellitto, 2012, p. 801;

Delahunty & Yoo, 2013, pp. 782-783). Instead via executive action, President

Obama’s administration implemented the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals

(DACA) program, when he approved as policy, a memorandum by then-Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. Secretary Napolitano’s memorandum gave the Department of Homeland Defense administrative jurisdiction over undocumented immigrants (Napolitano, 2012, pp. 1-3). Two years later, President

Obama signed into law, the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful

Permanent Residents (green card holders5) (DAPA) program (Felter & Renwick,

2017, para. 13; Pew Research Study, 2015). President Obama is reported as holding the presidential record for deporting the highest number of undocumented and criminal immigrants to their country of origin (Chishti, Pierce, & Bolter, 2017, para. 1; Palma & Mikkelson, 2017). DACA continues to remain a hot-topic issue.

In January 2018, the U.S. government was “shut down” over a weekend when

Congressional leaders were unable to come to an agreement in order to pass a continuing budget resolution because it contained legislation which specifically addressed DACA (Oja, 2018, p. 3; Rappaport, 2018, para. 1-3).

From the signing of the U.S. Constitution by America’s founding fathers to

President John F. Kennedy’s decree, “we are a nation of nations” at the height of the U.S. civil rights movement, to present day, addressing the issue of immigration has been and continues to be a point of contention.

5From the official website of the Department of Homeland Security titled “Get a Green Card,” a green card holder is someone who has been granted authorization to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis. As proof of that status, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants a person a permanent resident card, commonly referred to as a "Green Card." For additional information see: https://www.dhs.gov/how-do-i/get-green-card

Donald J. Trump Decides to Run for President

Already a prominent public figure on the global stage, in a speech announcing his Republican candidacy for President of the United States, Donald J.

Trump stated:

When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not

sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots

of problems, and they're bringing those problems with them. They're

bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I

assume, are good people (Kopan, 2016, para. 1; The Washington Post Staff,

2015).

As his agenda-setting rhetoric, lashing onto immigration for his presidential campaign established the populist beat “he [Donald J. Trump] would eventually ride to victory” (Sussman, 2017, p. 76). At this point, Trump had already historically and quite publicly established his general opinion on people of color.

In 1989, he paid “$85,000 placing full-page ads in the four daily papers in New

York City, calling for the return of the death penalty” (Burns, 2016, para. 2). His actions, at the time, appeared justified to many considering the horrific nature of the crime he was addressing (a 28-year-old, white female raped and brutally assaulted whilst on a night jog in Central Park, New York City, New York on April

19, 1989) (Sullivan, 1989, para. 1). However, his actions may have contributed to the erroneous incarceration of six “Black and Latino” innocent juveniles (Burns,

2016, para. 2). The six accused boys were imprisoned even though during the trial

“genetic tests proved inconclusive” (Sullivan, 1989, para. 1). Fourteen years later, the six wrongfully convicted boys [now men] were released from prison when

DNA evidence and the “detailed and accurate confession” of the actual perpetrator called for their sentence to be vacated (Burns, 2016, para. 5). In 2013, 2 years prior to announcing his intention to run for U.S. president, Trump tweeted “Sadly, the overwhelming amount of violent crime in our major cities is committed by Blacks and Hispanics-a tough subject-must be discussed” (Trump, 2013), thus, correlating race and ethnicity with violent crime across the country (Moreno, 2015, para. 3). In the third and final presidential debate with Democratic Presidential candidate

Hillary Rodham Clinton (“The third presidential debate,” 2016), Republican presidential candidate Trump conflated undocumented immigrants living in the

United States with extreme terrorists. During the debate, Trump stated, “bad hombres are entering into the United States” (Associated Press, 2016; Donald

Trump: We need to get out 'bad hombres', 2016; Moreno, 2016, para. 1). It should be noted, he mispronounced the Spanish word “hombres” and instead said,

“hambres.” Where, “hombres” means men and “hambres” means hungers (Moreno,

2016, para. 2). According to Moreno (2016, para. 3 & 6), Trump’s statement

27 portrayed an image of all immigrants, originating in Spanish-speaking countries, as criminals.

The Twittersphere

Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump used Twitter, a social media platform, to transmit his political agenda to his followers (Enli,

2017, p. 1; Wells & et al, 2016, p. 2). Unlike previous campaigns, Twitter was extensively used by presidential candidates to connect with the public

(@realDonaldTrump; @HillaryClinton; @BernieSanders; @JohnKasich;

@marcorubio; @tedcruz; @JebBush; @RealBenCarson; etc.) (Twitter, 2017). For newsworthy events, such as was the case for the presidential campaign, the Twitter audience was no longer limited to Twitter users, tweets became news media worthy and evolved as free advertising and agenda-setting opportunities for presidential candidates (Gross & Johnson, 2016, p. 748; Sussman, 2017, pp. 84-85). Twitter became a sound-bite medium for a sound-bite medium age (Gross & Johnson,

2016, p. 748). These tweeted sound bites were then reported on by the news media and given broad coverage, thereby reaching audiences candidates would not otherwise have attracted with their own campaign marketing schemes (Enli, 2017, p. 4; Gross & Johnson, 2016, p. 749; Wettstein & Wirth, 2017, p. 263). As a free social media platform, candidates were not restricted in their use of Twitter by

28 monetary limitations. Based on market research analysis, by the time the presidential campaign season was over, Trump had managed to obtain billions of dollars in free campaign advertising due to news media coverage on his tweets and campaign speeches (Schroeder, 2016; Wells et al., 2016, p. 2). According to

MediaQuant, the free news media coverage provided to Trump amounted to almost five billion dollars (Harris, 2016, para. 4). The significance of this, obviously, is based on Cohen’s (1963) now famous adage “the press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.” Maxwell McCombs’ and Donald Shaw’s (1972) investigations and subsequent findings of the 1968, 1972, and 1976 presidential campaigns media coverage supported Cohen’s (1963) premise. Further studies continued to support this premise and found the more often the media addressed and presented an issue, the more relevant the public found that issue to be

(McCombs, 2005, p. 544; Wettstein & Wirth, 2017, p. 263). Furthermore, when the media associated political candidates with specific issues, studies showed the media viewers found these specific issues to be more compelling and the message more salient, thus resulting in an agenda-setting opportunity for those candidates to which the media gave repeated air time (McCombs, Lopez-Escobar, & Llamas,

2000, p. 78; McCombs, 2004, p. 92).

Bully Tactics

As the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign progressed, the Twittersphere was infused with increasingly negative tweets with subsequent reporting and coverage by the news and social media. Gross and Johnson’s study (2016, p. 750) found

Donald J. Trump both “authored and was the target” of the majority of negative tweets. An example of a derogatory tweet on immigration released by Trump whilst the Democratic convention was underway: “Crooked Hillary Clinton wants to flood our country with Syrian immigrants that we know little or nothing about. The danger is massive. NO!” (Trump, 2016). Trump has “habitually made divisive, racially charged remarks” (Haltiwanger, 2018, para. 3). As an example, he tweeted and later retracted: “@RobHeilbron:@realDonaldTrump #Jeb Bush has to like the

Mexican illegals because of his wife” (Trump, 2015). Jeb Bush’s wife legally migrated to the United States from Mexico. Before Trump could delete the text

(2015), it was picked up by the news media. Instead of recognizing the audacity of his remark against a fellow Republican candidate, Trump doubled-down:

“@YoungYoung54: @JeriHyatt @megynkelly @JebBush So true. Jeb Bush is crazy, who cares that he speaks Mexican, this is America, English!!” (Trump,

2015). It should be noted: Mexican is not a spoken language.

Trump’s Continued Anti-Immigration Stance

In addition to tweeting his thoughts on immigration, in a foreign policy speech presented during a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Trump proclaimed, if elected president, he would implement an “extreme vetting of

Muslim immigrants” (Donald Trump calls for 'extreme vetting', 2016; Fox News,

2016; Zoroya, 2016). In this speech, Trump also relayed a proposal to create ideological tests for immigrants entering the United States (De Young, 2016;

Donald Trump calls for 'extreme vetting', 2016, para. 10; Turley, 2016; Zoroya,

2016). A study conducted by The Pew Research Center found the increase in crime by second- and third-generation immigrants, in comparison to first-generation immigrants, matched that of native-born Americans (Morin, 2013). This data was further researched by Sociologist, Dr. Bianca Bersani. Her study found foreign- born individuals exhibited remarkably low levels of involvement in crime across their life course in comparison to second-generation and that of native-born individuals (Bersani, 2014, p. 61).

The Electoral Vote and Not the Popular Vote Wins the 2016 Election

After being presented with the requisite number of electoral votes,

President-elect Trump continued to use language which propagated his agenda-

31 setting political discourse (Wettstein & Wirth, 2017, p. 262) of preventing from entering and removing “bad hombres” from U.S. soil. An agenda-setting populist rhetoric on immigration which he continued even as he assumed duties as the newly inaugurated United States President (Sussman, 2017, p. 76). As President,

Trump has been unrelenting in his use of Twitter as his platform of choice to instantly disseminate information. In a YouTube video titled: “Twitter allows me to get my message out,” in an interview by Fox News reporter, Tucker Carlson,

President Trump credited his presidential election on his ability to use Twitter to directly send out messages to his “millions of viewers” (Carlson, 2017). In a

September 2017 interview with a reporter from The Hoya (a Georgetown

University (Washington, DC) student-run newspaper), Mike Dubke, a former

Director of the White House Communications Office, stated President Trump’s continued use of his personal Twitter account (@realDonaldTrump) meant his tweets had often been unvetted by the White House Communications Office prior to being released to the public (Kotfica, 2017; Lanktree, 2017). According to The

Hoya article, Dubke further stated, “A single tweet would then dictate what the programming was for the next hour and a half on cable news, which was an amazing power but also an amazing distraction” (Kotfica, 2017, para. 8; Lanktree,

2017).

Breaking News or Diversionary Tactics?

President Trump’s tweets have resulted in daily political discussions across social media outlets, such as Facebook, network television news media stations, such as CBS News; CNN Breaking News; Fox News Media Company; MSNBC

Cable Network (Late Night Line Ups, 2018). Daytime talk shows, such as Morning

Joe (MSNBC); The View (ABC); and The Talk (CBS) have joined in discussing unfolding political events (2018). Also included in this list are late-night talk shows, such as Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC); The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

(CBS); The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC); Late Night with Seth

Meyers (NBC); The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS); and Last Call with

Carson Daly (NBC) (2018). This list, however, is not all-inclusive as it excludes shows on cable and syndicated stations, for example The Daily Show with Trevor

Noah (2018). Research, on the impact these programs have on the viewing public, has been under review by political analysts for some time (Feldman & Goldthwaite

Young, 2008). As stated, this is not an all-inclusive list, only a few examples of

U.S. media outlets reporting, on a daily basis, on President Trump’s Twitter feed.

An inclusive list would have to incorporate global newspapers and online media and social media outlets.

An example of a tweet which the U.S. news media deemed worthy of prolonged airtime was the tweet released by President Trump after a phone call with the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull (Thrush & Innis, 2017): “Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!” (Trump, 2017).

This specific tweet is eye-brow arching in light of the fact that “refugees,” as is the case in this context, are not “illegal immigrants.” According to the United Nations

High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), refugees undergo an extensive vetting process prior to being presented with refugee status and given admission into any country (Spiegel & Rubenstein, 2017, p. 679; “U.S. Refugee Admissions

Program,” n.d., para. 1: “Application and Case Processing”). Within the

“Declaration of Human Rights,” addressed at the 1951 Convention on Refugees, countries are specifically prohibited from “returning refugees to places where ‘their life or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’ (non-refoulment)”; additionally, “countries are barred from penalizing refugees who enter illegally in search of protection” (Acer & Byrne, 2017, p. 357; McAdam, 2017, p. 4).

Trump’s Travel Ban and Tweets as Official White House Statements

President Trump’s continued political discourse, against immigrant minorities and particularly Muslims, paralleled Executive Order 13769, which he signed one week after his inauguration ceremony. News outlets referred to the executive order as a “Muslim travel ban,” due to the fact that Islam is the predominant religion of the people from the seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya,

Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) banned from entering the United States.

Subsequently, the operational implementation of the executive order led to mass protests at airports across the United States (Associated Press, 2017; Bacon &

Gomez, 2017; Bradner, 2017; Moser, Hendricks, & Vives, 2017, p. 176; Seaton,

2017, p. 19; Silva, 2017). Two days after President Trump signed Executive Order

13769, he tweeted: “Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!” (Trump, 2017). The next day, he released the two following tweets, “There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign.

Study the world! (Trump, 2017); and “If the ban were announced with a one-week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad

"dudes" out there! (Trump, 2017). In response to public outcry regarding the

“Muslim travel ban,” White House Press Secretary at the time, Sean Spicer, denied

President Trump's executive order, which barred travelers to the United States from

Muslim-majority nations, was a “travel ban” (Abramson, 2017, para. 2; “USA:

Trump's executive order,” 2017). Instead he stated, “It’s a vetting system to keep

America safe” (The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 2017). As had become his customary style Trump responded via tweet, “Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people

(with bad intentions) out of country!” (Trump, 2017).

President Trump’s tweets have received historically unprecedented media attention (Hall & Taussig, 2017, pp. 622-623; Harris, 2016, para. 8; Schroeder,

2016, para. 6). As a result, discussions arose on whether his daily tweets could be considered official White House statements. On June 6, 2017, when asked during a

White House Press Briefing whether this was the case, White House Press

Secretary, Sean Spicer stated, “Well, the President is the President of the United

States, so they are considered official statements by the President of the United

States” (Jenkins, 2017; “Sean Spicer says president's tweets,” 2017; “Spicer insists

Trump's tweets,” 2017).

In signing Executive Order 13769, President Trump set into motion one of his many campaign promises. This particular campaign promise, released as a

“Make America Safe Again” political advertisement, was to secure America’s borders ('Two Americas: immigration' campaign 2016, 2016). Within the executive

36 order, President Trump specifically proclaimed, “the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens would be detrimental to the interests of the

United States” (Executive Order No. 13,769, 2017). On April 25th, 2018, President

Trump’s executive order was defended before the United States Supreme Court by

U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco. In his remarks to the supreme court judges, he stated, “he [President Trump] has made it crystal clear that Muslims in this country are great Americans ... and he has praised Islam as one of the great countries of the world" (Totenberg, 2018, para. 24). Of note, just as Mexican is not a language, Islam is not a country.

When the original executive order was signed by President Trump, and

“hastily designed and implemented,” it did not provide sufficient time to train personnel responsible for execution and enforcement, thereby leaving admission into the United States “up to the discretion of local Customs and Border Protection

(CBP) officers” (Moser, Hendricks, & Vives, 2017, p. 176). The news media reported that, as a result of hastily implementing the executive order, vetted refugees were being detained and could possibly be returned to their country of origin; thus, potentially further endangering their lives (ACLU, 2017; Spiegel &

Rubenstein, 2017, pp. 679-680). This was the well-publicized case for Hameed

Khalid Darweesh from Iraq. Mr. Darweesh had served as an interpreter for the U.S. military in war-torn Iraq (ACLU, 2017, para. 3; Ellis & Browne, 2017, para. 3);

37 and Haider Sameer Abdulkaleq Alshawi, he “had been granted a visa to join his wife and son,” who already resided in the United States as refugees. His wife had been granted refugee status after having worked in Iraq for a U.S. contractor

(ACLU, 2017, para. 4). Additionally, official green card holders, such as professional healthcare providers and academicians, had also been prevented from entering the United States and were therefore, unable to return to their respective places of employment (Morello & Reardon, 2017, pp. 13-14; Spiegel &

Rubenstein, 2017, pp. 679-680). The executive order essentially “racialized

[undocumented and documented] migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees” (Moser,

Hendricks, & Vives, 2017, p. 176). It represented an ideological perspective garrisoned in Trump’s egotistical and populist political discourse; a “mix of racial resentment, intolerance of multiculturalism, nationalistic isolationism, nostalgia for past glories, mistrust of outsiders, traditional misogyny and sexism, the appeal of forceful strong-man leadership, attack-dog politics, and racial and anti-Muslim animus” (Inglehart & Norris, 2016, p. 7; Seaton, 2017, p. 10).

Travel Ban Impact

President Trump’s travel ban not only affected migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and green-card holders, it also had an impact on the international business, medical, academic, and tourism and travel industry. The economic loss,

38 reflected in those denied visas or simply not permitted to enter the United States at the discretion of CBP officers, was also felt from the backlash of professional entities intellectually retaliating against the incivility against humanity. A notice in the international medical journal, The Lancet, “encourage[d] colleague[s] … to consider the ethical implications of participating at meetings and congresses held in the United States,” as they "view[ed] this as unjustified and unacceptable discrimination on the basis of religion, citizenship, and culture” (Lassen et al.,

2017, p. 804). Although the initial executive order was limited to the seven countries, the number of affected personnel in the medical fields was not insignificant. For example, The New England Journal of Medicine (Armstrong et al., 2017, p. e40(2)) reported the impact the executive order had on Massachusetts

General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. There were more than 100 people affected, 20 of which were in the process of working with U.S. consulates to acquire visas or were about to board flights when the executive order was hastily implemented (2017, p. e40(2)). There were “about seventy-eight people, from these seven countries identified as having active visas,” who felt the immediate scourge of President Trump’s executive order when they were denied entry (2017, p. e40(2)). Although not statistically validated, a Washington Post fact checker, Glenn

Kessler, reported “about 90,000” people were affected as a result of the order’s domino effect (2017). To the extent that U.S. daily business transactions are

39 influenced by immigrant workers, both Howard Schultz (known for globalizing

StarbucksTM) and Tim Cook (Chief Executive Officer, AppleTM, Inc.) rejected the travel ban citing the impact to refugees (Reilly, 2017).

The U.S. tourism and travel industry, “the seventh largest employer in the

US economy,” also experienced financial obstruction as a result of the travel ban

(Talty, 2017, para. 12). This is not without consequence when considering, “84 percent of travel companies in the United States self-identified as small business owners in 2012” (2017, para. 12). Within a week of execution, ForwardKeys reported “travel to the USA [had] suffer[ed] 6.5%” and “net bookings from [the] seven countries [were] down by 80%” (“Trump travel ban impact,” 2017, para. 2).

ForwardKeys provides perspectives on future travel patterns by analyzing 17 million daily travel reservations. The Global Business Travel Association estimated the “loss of $185 million in business travel bookings from January 28 to February

4, [2017]” (Coffey, 2017, para. 3). They also predicted the travel ban would result in a loss of over four million visitors to the United States in 2017, equating to a potential loss of over seven billion dollars in U.S. economic revenue (2017, para.

3).

In a continuation of Trump’s anti-immigration approbation, Disney World

(Orlando, Florida), a world-renown tourist magnet, will also potentially experience an economic truncation by virtue of President Trump’s administrative ink. Disney

40 and others who employ immigrants with Temporary Protective Status (TPS) could lose millions if it becomes necessary to hire and retrain workers to replace those who lose their TPS and are forced to return to their country of origin (USCIS,

2017). Unite Here Local 737 Union President Jeremy Cruz-Haicken stated, “nearly

500 Haitian employees at Disney World [were] hired under TPS” (Rodriguez,

2018, para. 14). According to Rodriguez (2018, para. 11) in an interview with the

Immigrant Legal Resource Center, an immigrant advocacy group, “American employers would have to spend $967 million to hire and train new employees if they were to lose their Haitian, Honduran and El Salvadoran staffers.” [UNITE

HERE Local 737 is a union of workers in Walt Disney World Food & Beverage and Housekeeping, Palmas Services, Patina Restaurant Group, the Buena Vista

Palace Resort & Spa, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel at the Entrance to Universal

Orlando and Centerplate at the Orange County Convention Center].

The executive order also created concern for students and scholars at U.S. universities. At the time President Trump released Executive Order No. 13,769

(2017), national academic scholars rebuffed it instantaneously and “many expressed moral outrage” (Fain, 2017, para. 1). Across the country, in speaking out against the order, many U.S. university leaders joined students in campus protests

(Reilly, 2017, para. 10). The travel ban impacted many scholars and international students who were either warned not to leave their home country, stranded at

41 airports, prevented from entry, or whose visa requests were delayed (2017, para. 1).

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) website shows that in 2011, the United States led OECD countries with 17% international student enrollment (OECD, 2013, p. 2). “During the 2014-2015 school year, international students contributed more than $30.5 billion to the U.S. economy”

(Reilly, 2017, para. 8). Within 2 weeks of implementation, “graduate deans cite[d] anti-immigrant rhetoric” as the reason for “a 30% decline in applications” from international students (Mervis, 2017). In response to the massive concern regarding the executive order’s long-term impact, in July 2017, Open Doors (IIE) conducted a limited survey of “112 colleges” and reported there had been a “two percent decline in the expected yield rate” of student enrollment in comparison to 2016

(Childs, 2017, para. 2). This consequence should also be considered in light of the

2015 Open Doors Report which indicated a slight decrease in university enrollment by U.S.-born students (IIE, 2016, para. 18). The Open Doors® Report on

International Educational Exchange is published by the Institute of International

Education (IIE), a U.S.-based, not-for-profit educational and cultural exchange organization6.

Casting aside the financial implications, as U.S. universities have academically incorporated international scholars and students (Childs, 2017), the impact to the scholastic field is noteworthy. As the 200 national universities, responsible for the majority of U.S. government-funded research, seek intellectuals to participate in and contribute to research projects, the exploration for talent has become progressively international (Mervis, 2017, p. 676). This is based on the international perspective students bring to an established and ever-increasing global market.

FIT Administration’s Response to the Travel Ban

In January 2017, when President Trump signed the original Executive Order

(No. 13,769), Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) administration made an effort to ensure its international students recognized the university stood by its welcome message. FIT is committed to providing “high quality-education to a culturally

6For additional information see: https://www.iie.org/Research-and-Insights/Open- Doors

43 diverse student body in order to prepare students entering a global workforce”

(“Welcome,” n. d., Mission section, para. 1). Via a mass e-mail to the “Florida

Tech Family,” in addressing “President Trump’s executive order concerning immigration,” FIT President T. Dwayne McCay, emphasized, “…we are a university that embraces diversity and strives to prepare students for global citizenship” (personal communication, January 30, 2017). When interviewed by On

Point radio talk show host, Tom Ashbrook, President McCay further underscored

FIT’s position on welcoming international students to the FIT campus (Ashbrook,

2017). [On Point is an American radio talk show which airs on Boston’s National

Public Radio (NPR) news station, WBUR-FM (90.9)7]. During the interview,

McCay emphasized inclusion of international students presented an opportunity to not only influence their knowledge base, but also their attitudes towards America and American culture. Additionally, McCay stressed the importance of the cultural interaction and exchange that occurred on campus amongst international students originating from 120 countries (2017). In a March 2017 interview, the FIT

International Scholar and Student Services (ISSS) Director corroborated President

McCay’s message (personal communication, March 28, 2017). She also mentioned

7Additional information can be found at: http://www.wbur.org/onpoint

44 the extensive use of the hashtag (#) “YouAreWelcomeHere8” by the national academic community. The “YouAreWelcomeHere” hashtag (#) was initiated by

Temple University, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania.

The International Student Experience

There are many areas to consider when addressing the experiences international students encounter upon enrollment at an American university. As examples, acculturation (culture shock), intercultural communication, academic adaptation and achievement (just to name a few) (Yu, Isensee, & Kappler, 2016).

Enrollment in a university automatically thrusts students into a group dynamic, however it becomes incumbent on the university to ensure their welfare and in so doing, establish a sense of belonging for students who have elected to migrate from their home country to study abroad. In becoming members of a campus society, students must experience a sense of acceptance by the pre-established campus community. In seeking enrollment at a prestigious university, such as FIT, students extrapolate their personal identity, not only as it correlates to the university’s

8Additional information can be found at: https://www.youarewelcomehereusa.org/read-me

45 esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1978, p. 63), but also, from their own personal sentiment towards the university. In adapting to their new environment, an important aspect to establish is a students’ sense of belonging. A sense of belonging is an important factor in establishing continued affiliation with the university (Glass & Westmont,

2013, p. 116). This factor is pre-supposed in a foundational study by Baumeister and Leary (1995, p. 499), which established the psychological necessity to belong to a group of people who cares about one’s welfare. Studies conducted by Ryan and

Deci (2000, p. 322) led them to believe that belonging and relatedness were strong needs and were “basic, nonderivative, and growth promoting.” That is to say, a sense of belonging is inherent to humanity; without a sense of belonging, a person’s potential suffers. Therefore, a positive sense of belonging, of feeling accepted and taking pride in being associated with the university is a necessity in order for students to encounter the fullness of that which is the university experience.

Glass and Westmont (2014, p. 106) are just two of several authors that proposed suggestions for a university community to project a sense of inclusiveness. They suggest “cultural events, leadership programs, and community service” experiences enhance a sense of belonging (2014, p. 106). Participation in such events also provided avenues for interaction which tended to reduce the level

46 of racism international students encountered. Finally, such events also provided a

“secure base for the exploration of cross-cultural relationships” (2014, p. 106).

To this end, FIT has an established International Student and Scholar

Services (ISSS) office to assist international students in transitioning into and hopefully adapting to the FIT campus community. The FIT ISSS website states,

“ISSS prides itself in providing international students services you need to be happy and successful at Florida Tech (“The Office of International Student and

Scholar Services welcomes you to Florida Tech,” n. d., Mission section, para. 3). In this capacity, ISSS was and continues to be the primary point of contact for disseminating up-to-date information to FIT international students regarding the latest U.S. national policies pertaining to immigration, employment, and travel requirements (ISSS Director, personal communication, March 28, 2017). ISSS is largely responsible for ensuring international students’ needs are met, so students can focus on acquiring their education. Through various acculturation programs,

ISSS attempts to ensure international students encounter a positive lived experience during their tenure at FIT (ISSS Director, personal communication, March 28,

2017).

Hazen and Alberts (2006, p. 201) found that the majority of international students did not enroll in U.S. universities with the intention of becoming permanent residents. However, due to academic, community, and personal

47 influences, at some point in their academic progression, students did eventually encounter the question of deciding to remain in the United States or return to their country of origin (2006, pp. 203-204). The eventual decision, for international students who did decide to immigrate to the United States, was typically as a result of professional pull, whereas family circumstances promoted a return home (2006, p. 201). A 2015 study, by the Institute for International Education (IIE), indicated a growing trend of international students not returning to their home country after having studied abroad. This resulted in a recurrence of data in a study by Findlay,

Prazeres, McCollum, and Packwood (2017, p. 197) which indicated that for many international students, after having left their home to go study abroad, returning to their home country might even be considered a failure depending on the circumstances of their country of origin. Consequently, instead of returning to their country of origin, these international students have instead become global citizens

(2017, p. 198).

The U.S. government offers international students an opportunity to extend their stay post-graduation via employment participation incentives such as the

Optional Practical Training (OPT) program (U.S. Department of Homeland, n.d.).

Beyond OPT, if companies find the need to convert students’ training to full-time employment, companies will submit an application to the U.S. government and sponsor an employment visa for the individual (U.S. Department of State, n.d.).

The details pertaining to both OPT and visa issuance are intricate and extensive.

This thesis is not designed to address these details. This information is only included as it pertains to the interviews held with FIT international students on president-elect, and subsequently, President Trump’s political discourse on immigration; the issuance of the executive orders (No. 13,769, 2017; No. 13,780,

2017); and, FIT’s response to the executive orders. That is the juncture at which this study ensued. Thus, this study begins with the following research questions:

RQ1: What news media do FIT international students access?

RQ2: What are FIT international students’ perspectives on the executive orders signed by President Donald J. Trump on January 27 and March 6, 2017, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States?

RQ3: What are international students’ reactions to FIT President T. Dwayne McCay’s email in response to President Trump’s executive orders?

RQ4: Based on President Trump’s political discourse on immigration, what do FIT international students think about continuing their studies at FIT and potential future participation in the Optional Practical Training program?

Methodology

The qualitative instrument used to conduct this social research was “the interview” (Beitin, 2012, p. 243; Castillo-Montoya, 2016; Chenail, 2011, pp. 255-

256; DiCicco-Bloom & Crabtree, 2006, pp. 314-315; Fontana & Frey, 2000, pp.

652-656; Hiller & DiLuzio, 2004; Knox & Burkhard, 2009, p. 3; McCracken, 1998;

Mero-Jaffe, 2011, p. 232; Patton, 2015, pp. 421-517; Rubin & Rubin, 2012;

Seidman, 2013; Singleton & Strait, 2005, pp. 221-222). In order to have an understanding of the students’ individual perspective, the desired outcome was to have participants give meaningful and introspective answers to questions (Patton,

2015, p. 471). Through interviews with volunteer participants, the researcher sought to obtain “in-depth, individualized, and contextually sensitive” information

(Patton, 2015, p. 7).

Before the study could commence, there were specific procedural requirements that had to be met. The study had to be pre-approved by the Florida

Institute of Technology (FIT) Institutional Review Board (IRB) (Appendix A). This study focused on international students actively enrolled at FIT’s main campus and familiar with President Trump’s political discourse on immigration. In compliance with IRB rules, all participants had to be 18 years of age or older. The following forms were submitted to the IRB for approval: a participant consent form

(Appendix B); participant signature page (Appendix C); staff consent form

(Appendix D); staff consent signature page (Appendix E); and interview guides.

One guide was for student interviews (Appendix F) and the second for staff members (Appendix G) [Note: the only staff member interviewed was the Director for International Scholar and Student Services (ISSS)].

Based on the narrow scope of the study, “purposeful sampling” (Seidman,

2013, pp. 55-57) limited participant recruitment to students who met the study criteria. The rationale for the purposeful sampling approach was to obtain

“information rich” insight into a very specific group of potential interview candidates (Patton, 2015, p. 46.) In recruiting candidates, first, an email (Appendix

H) was sent to the FIT ISSS office seeking approval for mass distribution. Upon approval, ISSS released the email via mass distribution to the international students’ distribution list by way of the FIT’s campus e-mail server. Second, flyers

(Appendix I) were posted on campus announcement boards. Third, with prior approval from faculty, hard copy flyers were disseminated within FIT classrooms

(Appendix J). This resulted in students self-selecting to be interviewed. Fourth, by utilizing the “snowball sampling” recruitment technique, volunteer participants were asked to provide additional contacts (Singleton & Straits, 2005, p. 138).

Snowball sampling allowed for “an examination of commonalities … which included both differences and similarities” (Palinkas, Horowitz, Green, Wisdom,

Duan, & Hoagwood, 2015, p. 539). There was only one student who participated as a result of snowball sampling.

The final participant recruitment method reflected the proportion of international students on campus. Because the researcher came into daily contact with international students, the researcher randomly approached groups of people

51 whilst in FIT public settings. Public settings such as FIT John H. Evans Library; the FIT Denius Student Center; the Clemente Center (the gym); and the FIT

International Festival celebrating global diversity. Approaching groups of students, the researcher simply asked if they were international students and might they be interested in participating in a graduate school thesis research study. Because the location was on campus, the students were able to immediately relate to the request to participate in a research study. This introduction broke the barrier. The researcher was not simply a random stranger asking them to take a survey. The researcher was a colleague. However, once the researcher explained the study, for a variety of reasons, not all students encountered were interested in participating.

Typically, however, if the conversation went beyond the initial question of, “what is the study about?,” an exchange of information occurred. For example, students asked, “What department are you in? Will I be personally identified in the study?

What nationality are you? How many students have signed up so far?” If a student provided verbal consent, the researcher then asked questions to ascertain if the potential participant met the study criteria: “Are you an international student actively enrolled at FIT’s main campus? Are you 18 years of age or older? Are you familiar with President Trump’s rhetoric on immigration?” If so, an exchange of contact information occurred. The researcher later contacted individuals and established a mutually convenient time to meet for an interview session. The

52 researcher recorded the collected information on an excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet was maintained on the researcher’s personal laptop, which was password protected (only accessible by the researcher), in accordance with IRB policy for safeguarding participant information. Upon submission and approval of this study, spreadsheets containing personal information will be destroyed as directed by the IRB.

All interviews occurred between March 19 and March 24, 2017. Based on the scope of this research, that is, the desire to gain intimate insight on individual international students’ perspectives on President Trump’s political discourse on immigration and whether they felt a sense of belonging at FIT, the researcher was unconcerned with either self-selection bias or nonresponse bias (Singleton &

Straits, 2005, p. 145). It was simply essential to have enough students volunteer to participate in the study in order to achieve saturation. Sixteen FIT international students volunteered to participate in this study. Fourteen, of the 16 students who volunteered to participate, were interviewed.

The majority of the interview sessions were held at the university library; two were held in private conference rooms on campus (Crawford Hall). At the library, private study rooms were pre-booked for 2-hour timeframes. Although interviews were scheduled for a 1-hour session, several interviews went beyond the

1-hour scheduled timeframe. A few of the interviews required a second session in

53 order to complete the interview. As such, the researcher was able to determine when a data saturation point had been achieved. This was done by pursuing a line of questioning until there was no further merit in continuing (Francis et al., 2010, p.

1229). Saturation was based on the scope of the study and the information sought and provided by the voluntary participants (2010, p. 1230)

By its very nature, based on the university environment, the participants’ scheduling constraints were taken into consideration (Seidman, 2013, p. 24). In preparation, the researcher developed an interview questionnaire to serve as a guide during the interview (Singleton & Straits, 2005, p. 320). As stated, there were two interview guides, the first for students and the second for staff. While the ISSS

Director was the only FIT staff member interviewed, this nonetheless required a separate interview guide from that of the students. Based on literature reviewed, the researcher anticipated each interview would be different and participants’ answers would lead to questions not expressly stated in the interview guide (Seidman, 2013, pp. 94-95). In order to obtain both depth and detail, using the guide as a point of reference, the interviews were structured so the researcher was able to remain flexible. Thus, providing an opportunity to respond with new questions in response to the information gathered as interviews progressed (Rubin & Rubin, 2012, p. 37).

Upon arriving for the private, one-on-one interview, the students were asked permission to audio record the session. Once permission was granted the

54 researcher then turned on the audio recorder and presented the student with a copy of the consent form. Students retained the consent form for their future reference; the researcher’s contact information was included at the bottom of the consent form. The researcher retained and filed the consent form signature page. The participant was then randomly assigned a pseudonym (Appendix K). The pseudonym list was compiled by the researcher prior to the interview process as part of this study. When a volunteer participant arrived for the interview session, the researcher would assign a pseudonym via two different approaches: 1) select two names off the list and ask the participant to pick one, and 2), randomly select a pseudonym not yet assigned, and ask the participant if they were okay with that particular name as a pseudonym? Participants typically agreed to the assigned name, however, at least one participant asked to be assigned a different pseudonym.

Although, each participant did sign a consent form, thus giving permission to be quoted directly, they were strictly identified throughout interview and subsequent data analysis by the pseudonym assigned to them at the time of the interview. As previously stated, all materials were kept on file, to be destroyed within 6 months of study completion per IRB directive. Of note, the participant consent form was not simply turned over to the student, instead prior to commencement, the researcher read and reviewed the consent form with each student. The only exception was a student whose first and primary language was English and chose to

55 read the form on his own. When the consent form had been read, the researcher asked the participants whether they had any questions pertaining to the consent form? Once all questions had been answered, the student signed the consent form and the interview process began. For each interview, the researcher used a clean copy of the Student Interview Guide (Appendix F) to initiate the interview. When a particular question had been thoroughly covered, the researcher referred to the interview guide to advance the discussion. As such, 14 individual interviews were conducted following a similar structure.

After the interviews were completed, the transcription process began.

Nuance DragonⓇ Naturally Speaking transcription software was used to transcribe the interviews. Because some of the students spoke English with fairly thick accents, it took longer to transcribe these audio recordings. However, their narrative was as insightful, if not more so, in light of their respective cultural perspectives. In conducting the interview transcriptions, the researcher was able to visually recall the individual sessions and participant’s essence. In re-hearing the interview, the researcher felt the weight in the participant’s voice; the stutters in their speech as their words emanated an emotional intensity while sharing their thoughts on

President Donald J. Trump’s rhetoric. Once all 14 interviews were transcribed, the data analysis occurred over several distinct steps.

Upon finishing the transcription process, the researcher read all of the transcripts. The initial transcript reading was not intended to capture information but was instead a review of the document to ensure major typographical errors had not occurred. The reason for this step was because the transcription process had simply been to move the oral interview to a typed document, where very little editing in place had occurred. Where the researcher found paragraphs did not make sense (were not easy to read for comprehension), the researcher returned to the recorded data, located the audio passage, and re-listened to the interview in progress.

Once the researcher understood the transcribed material in context, the next step was to focus on the actual content. Each transcript was re-read as an overview, this time taking the content into consideration. Then, each transcript was re-read, this time in search of themes, threads, specific words that had been mentally registered during each of the previous iterations. During this process, bulks of information were transferred over to the thesis document and nestled under the overarching topic pertaining to the research questions. During this process, themes began to evolve.

Once the information had been culled from each transcript, the transcripts were set aside. The researcher then focused on the information captured for each section. This time, in re-reading the information under each topic area, the coding

57 process begin. As one example, in addressing how students accessed news media, the researcher found a recurring use of the word “hype” as students discussed news media reports. This depicted a recurring theme, whereby such recurring themes were coded (highlighted). The process continued in this manner, seeking commonalities within the participants’ responses. In finding the common threads, these quotes were reduced to support the evolving analysis. This process was then repeated to correspond with each of the research questions.

Participant Data Analysis

This study was, in part, initiated based on the 33 percent international student enrollment rate based on overall student population at the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). In accordance with the study criteria, all volunteer participants were international students enrolled at the FIT main campus. The final list, of international students who volunteered to participate in this study, consisted of 10 students seeking undergraduate degrees; one student seeking a master’s degree; and three students pursuing doctoral degrees, for a total of 14 international students interviewed. The students’ majors were predominantly engineering, aerospace, computer science and biology/medical. These majors are representative

58 of the fact that FIT is a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) oriented university. Three of the 14 student participants were female. Per Dominic

Lombardi (Manager, Data Systems, Florida Institute of Technology Institutional

Research), for academic years 2016-2017 (Fall 2016 official count) and 2017-2018

(Fall 2017 official count), international females comprised 27 percent of the main campus female population. Two of the students were 20 years old; five of the students were 21 years old; three of the students were 22 years old; and the remaining four students’ ages were 24, 29, 34, and 36 years old. Thus, the students’ ages ranged from 20 to 36 years old. Two students were in their first year at FIT, however they were not Freshmen, both had transferred into FIT from other U.S. universities. A student seeking a doctoral degree was in his sixth year and anticipated graduating from FIT spring semester 2017. The volunteer participants represented 10 countries across four continents. Two participants were immigrants to the country from where they departed to enroll at FIT. Based on their own home- country political circumstances, countries will not be identified, as non-attribution was promised to these students by the researcher. While a pseudonym should be sufficient to ensure non-attribution, based on current (ongoing) real-world events within these countries, and between the United States and the countries from where these students originate, information shared by the students will not be country specific.

Discussion and Findings

As part of the participation criteria, it was important to determine whether the international students, who voluntarily chose to participate in this study, were aware of candidate and then President Trump’s political discourse on immigration.

As a result, the first research question addressed this matter.

RQ1: What news media do FIT international students access?

Based on the information shared by each of the 14 participants, it quickly became apparent this group of students volunteered to participate in this study because they were active consumers of news media. This group of international students not only actively sought news media reports at the local level, but they also sought to remain current on global events. They searched for information not only pertaining to U.S. politics, but they also stayed abreast of information provided by global news media as they sought information pertaining to their home country regional areas. The students reported obtaining information online. Several students listed CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and The New York Times, The

Washington Post, and USA Today as news media accessed daily. The students from countries in two of the continents also tuned in to BBC International and /or BBC service for their region. Several of the students read The Guardian and Al Jazeera daily. Participants utilizing Al Jazeera as a source were not necessarily from Al

Jazeera’s home region. Several accessed this source to compare to information reported by western media.

A recurring theme illustrated students’ access to a variety of online news media sites. These sites were accessed to obtain information beyond what was being portrayed by the television news media or within the newspapers they read.

Participants expressed a necessity to acquire information from several sources in order to negate what they deemed as news media bias. They expressed a necessity to access a variety of news sources in order to educate and formulate their own opinions. As such, Gary stated:

“I have a TV at home so I watch all news channels … CNN talk news

MSNBC, CBS just to stay in touch … I have subscriptions to various news

articles and so that I get information from … Flipboard that’s kind of like a

catalog of a lot of articles that are written by independent journalists … and

I also follow newspaper articles like New York Times and The Guardian. In

the morning, when I go to my computer, on my Yahoo page … I see news

and then I follow links … so sometimes I just spend hours trying to read

because I try to have a variety of opinions on any specific issue, so that I

can then form my own opinion as opposed to just going with someone

else’s view point on issues.”

This perspective was supported by Jared as he also indicated he accessed several news sources, and once again addressed the theme regarding news media bias. His point of view being that if you can review enough sources, a viewer can extrapolate the “average” information:

“I listen to every news channel every day, I spend like one hour to listen to

different news from different channels, so the overall it’s not biased, if you

listen to different sources the average is not biased.”

When asked to share his news sources, Jared responded:

“Different sources, it’s not just visual sources like news channels, I also

read newspapers, I read from the websites … I like the foreign policies

more than other things, foreign policies are more attractive to me ... like for

example, interaction between USA and China. I like these parts of the

politics because I do love politics, so I usually [read] for example, RT,

Russia Today.”

Jared’s response supports the recurring theme throughout this line of questioning whereas students saw the need to access several media sites in order to arrive at their own conclusion on any given news story. Similarly, Anne also addressed the

62 bias as the reason to access more than one source:

“Everything is all like biased, depending on the various things, like different

news stations carry different news, mostly based on what they feel is the

real thing. They don’t exactly, you know what I’m saying for example, like

Fox gives their own perspective, CNN gives its own perspective. I feel like,

from what I’ve noticed, I feel like it depends on the individual to choose

which one they want to listen to so information is still passed by, but I don’t

think it’s the hundred percent truth I think it’s like fiddled with.”

In contrast to having several media sources at their fingertips in order to formulate their own opinion, some students expressed frustration over the lack of resources in their home country. For example, students expressed a frustration when explaining that having access to several news sources, particularly news sources by entities that were not government owned and run, was often not an option in their home country. As a result, they reported being frustrated at the fact that people bought into the bias, as expressed by Frank:

“The only media that they see [in home country] it’s CNN for that matter

and CNN is, and every news channel that is, every news channel possesses

some kind of bias. CNN is the only one available in my country, they only

have that bias, they don’t really see the other side of the story about the

perception that other news have about the same story.”

The students recommended following multiple news sources and being cognizant of the bias presented by individual news media sources in order to take “take the average meaning” from all of the sources to arrive at the truth…or a semblance of the truth in what the news media reports. This bias theme was also expressed by

Danny:

“… I would like to just receive different messages from different media and

so I think about it, and then combine my knowledge of some information …

I wouldn’t receive the message directly and say, oh here’s something I just

agree, I would just think about it.”

As the discussion on news media unfolded, the researcher became interested in finding out what the students thought about a potential media bias towards the individual candidates during the presidential election, to which Jared’s response was that because Fox News’ reporting was pro-Trump, biased, and was partisan towards Trump, definitely not what journalism is supposed to be, he believed Fox

News had actually helped President Trump win the election. On the other hand, because the other national news stations, such CNN and ABC had attempted to remain moderate, they too had helped President Trump win the election, as these news outlets did not provide contrastingly contradictory information on Trump.

Aside from news media bias, another recurring thread was a notion which participants referred to as “media hyping.” In their responses, participants shared

64 their belief that they felt the social media information they received was often sensationalized, “the more hype, the more viewers.” As Jack stated:

“I don’t really just rely on just one channel because there’s a lot of hype

about how Fox News just obliterates everything … back home news is

heavily controlled … unlike the free media here. I think it’s a bit too hyped

up at the moment especially because of current president and his Twitter

usage.”

In addressing the idea of media hyperbole, the researcher asked Andy to further explain his definition of media hyping. What did he mean when he stated “it’s a bit extra in my opinion?” Andy responded:

“… nowadays, due to the social media and everything, everything’s getting

hyped. Like for example there is this one small petite stuff happening

around the world and they will show it in a large way, so I feel that they are

scaring people and taking advantage probably.”

In further exploring their idea of media hyperbole or sensationalized news reporting by the U.S. media, students expressed the sentiment that their country’s leadership no longer had to exploit the idea that the United States was against them.

Their leaders no longer had to submit to hyperbolic propaganda against the United

States. Students expressed that by the very nature of President Trump’s daily vitriolic rhetoric [divisive, derogatory, anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant, misogynistic,

65 chauvinistic, racist, etc.], as regularly reported by the U.S. news media, the people

[in their home country] could see for themselves that the United States was, in fact, against them. Their country’s regime no longer had to emit anti-American propaganda. President Trump’s anti-immigration and anti-Islamic rhetoric represented American sentiment towards their country. Essentially, President

Trump was bringing about a sense of unity within their country, an “us versus them” stance, per se. According to Edgar, the extremists in both his country and in the United States are seeking the same endgame. As Edgar explained:

“… apparently [my country] has big issue with United States and it doesn’t

necessarily reflect people’s opinion, but that’s it, it’s a big issue, and the

extremist in [my country] and in the United States weirdly have the same

benefits, and that benefits is spreading hate among nations so in [my

country] normal people would be desire to believe that United States is the

first enemy and that is very good for extremists.”

In addressing the “extremists” perspective, students stated that because

Americans elected Donald J. Trump to be the President of the United States, the

United States had moved from an outward looking, globally involved country to an inward looking, nationalistic mindset. This is an interesting dynamic, as it was the

United States that pushed for globalization by initiating world trade agreements and modernizing technology which was then marketed and distributed across the globe.

In changing from a globally strategic partner to a nationalistic mindset, the global economic structure will be affected and where the United States steps aside, other world leaders (such as China) will step in to take the place left vacant by the United

States.

While access to news media sources has been addressed, the researcher would like to bring to light an interesting finding shared by the students. Several students, whose home country news media is government-controlled, stated they had accessed U.S. news media sources prior to traveling to the United States. They had accessed, for example, YouTube and news media sites directly by establishing

[a non-government authorized / approved] virtual private network (VPN). Students researched information about the United States in order to prepare for enrollment at a U.S. university. They stated they were interested in formulating their own opinion in contrast to the information being provided about the United States by their home country. Gina rather nonchalantly stated:

“Actually, I have my Facebook account 2 years ago, before I got here,

because I have a friend like who knows how to access that, because unlike I

if in [home country] right now, I take my laptop and type Facebook then it

shows error page, I can link up as something, I don’t know what my friends

did, but finally we got a little barcode VPN.”

Likewise, Ian, who had also accessed U.S. political news via a VPN prior to travelling to the United States, stated:

“I always use like VPN to enter Google and so like to watch CNN … or to

that New York Times, or also the website of the New York Times and to

watch some the international news because they will be more real … media

will be more neutral. They will just like transfer the news from the source to

the to the viewers, and they will have no, you know, the political tendencies

that even in the [country] they are, everything will be the policy of [my

country].”

In the technological era in which we reside, as long as a person has access to a computer and a network, information can be gained with just a few keystrokes.

These students well understood that by accessing Facebook and YouTube via a

VPN, they were in violation of their country’s governance. However, it was inherently more important to them to have access to the information. They wanted to understand and prepare for the environment they were about to enter by attending an American university. By accessing information via a VPN, students formed a perspective other than what was received in-country by their government- controlled news media. When asked if they were concerned with being discovered by their government, Jared stated online accounts could easily be established by using false information and throw-away phones. Jared went on to describe a

68 situation regarding a social media application (app) within his home country.

According to Jared, the server which supported the social media app was located outside of his country. The users, who accessed the server via a VPN, lived in a country where the government ruled it illegal for the people to use this particular social media app. The people disregarded this dictate and use of this social media app became widely known with increasing access. In an attempt to put a stop to this subversion, the country’s leaders attempted to gain access to users’ information.

They approached the media app owners and demanded the users’ information be turned over. However, this government has no authority over a company which resides outside of their borders, therefore the company denied the request.

According to Jared:

“The government asked the CEO of that company … to provide them …

access to see the phone number, or address of those account holders, to

monitor, but [owners of the] application, they refused, and they reviewed

the information in the media, … let me say it another way they

[governments] do monitor everybody, but it’s very difficult on social media,

because you can have a fake name, fake address, fake phone number.”

There is a fine line to address at this juncture. Since it is possible to set up false accounts for personal use, would it not also be just as easy to set up false accounts and transmit information on behalf of a legitimate individual? Depending

69 where a person stands on this issue, this can either be seen as a violation of a government’s sovereign rule or it can be seen as a justifiably subversive behavior by a people seeking freedom from an oppressive government. In the future, will it be possible to determine which news sources are relaying factual information or which news sources are providing alternative facts? This matter was addressed by asking participants whether they thought the information they received on U.S. political discourse from U.S.-based news media sources was comparable to the news media sources from their home country? In response, Gary stated:

“CNN for example, they have people on ground back home that do the

reporting and so what they provide is sometimes accurate compared to what

I read within from other [home country] sources, but other times … I would

say not accurate, but because sometimes we have issues in [country] of

people mismanaging the facts, facts as I would describe it. They don’t have

a complete story, when they present the first story, so I would say yes for

the most significant amount of information that they carry is what I also get

from the local media sources.”

In contrast, Ben provided the following insight from when he had an opportunity to travel to New York City, New York. Ben found himself discussing

U.S. news media in comparison to [home country] news media. Ben’s discussion

70 was with an older gentleman who was an immigrant from Ben’s country and was now living in New York City. Ben stated:

“…he read the news and he tell me something about our country, but like

the BBC or the CNN in it they can express our country, so he also asked me

some questions whether it’s true about that and something is true, but

something what I see is not true.”

Ben’s reasoning for the difference in information provided by his home country government-controlled news media and U.S. news media was: “you know every media is supported by some company or and they need to say something they like.”

The researcher found the students interviewed to be highly informed on not only U.S. political news, but also were well-read on information pertaining to their own home countries. The access to news media was of such importance to them, that prior to arriving in the United States, they were willing to violate their own country’s rules to access information. In this manner, they became familiar with

Donald J. Trump as the Republican candidate for U.S. president and his political discourse on immigration.

Prior to addressing research question number two, it is important to address the international students’ perspectives on the 2016 U.S. Presidential election results. Their viewpoints on this matter lay the foundation for discussions on

President Trump’s executive orders. FIT international students interviewed, stated

71 they thought themselves to be in a unique position to personally participate in U.S. political discourse during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. This was based on their individual perspectives of the 2016 presidential candidates. They based their analysis of the candidates’ qualifications by way of information gained and processed from the news media they so frequently accessed. Almost uniformly, the students portrayed Hillary Rodham Clinton as a long-term-career, politically astute

Democratic candidate running against a self-proclaimed billionaire, real estate mogul and media personality, Republican candidate Donald J. Trump. The majority of the students interviewed believed Hillary Clinton would be the clear winner. As such, students stated it came as a surprise to them that on the day after the presidential election (November 9, 2016), upon returning to campus, their

American peers were seemingly unaffected by the election results. Jared described his experience:

“I came to the campus just a day after election [laughter], I was expecting

everybody talking about the election last night, but it was not like this,

people were working.”

The students expressed that they found it interesting that the election results were not a primary focus of discussion on campus. The students that were not from democratically-ruled countries expressed a particular interest in attempting to comprehend the seamless transition of power between President Barak H. Obama

72 and the newly elected, Donald J. Trump. They tried to absorb this experience while contemplating the fact that Hillary Rodham Clinton had won the popular vote and yet, had lost the election. The students expressed concern over their own personal welfare as they attempted to understand the American mindset in having elected

Donald J. Trump. Based on Trump’s continued divisive political discourse, what was going to happen to them? If Trump was anti-immigration and anti-Muslim, and the American people had elected him, how was this American sentiment that had previously only been in the fringes, going to reflect on them as international students? Irene described this sentiment as she shared a personal experience from election night:

“… even I know of a person from one of the seven countries that I was with

him the night that elections happened, so this is before travel ban … he’s

from one of the seven countries, so it was almost like the fear was already

there. It was already building. It was not just after the elections happen, it’s

sort of been here, it was sort of a case of judging a small group of people

and believing that they are representative of a larger people. I was with him

[her friend] the night of the elections and this … really stayed with me

because … in passing, he said, ‘let me walk you home tonight because I

don’t know if I’ll be able to do that tomorrow’. He said, ‘I don’t know how

people are going to react to the fact that he [Trump] is saying these things

openly about my country or that has being saying these things about

people.’ Cuz he’s also gay, so that might be added to it … so I guess it was

scarier to him because of religion, because of sexual preference, because of

nationality than it was for me, for me it was just the fact that one, I’m a

female and … it was also a color thing for me … again it’s … instilling a lot

of fear, a lot of, what’s the right word would it be, apprehension.”

Again, these students were trying to understand how the American people could have elected a person like Donald J. Trump? Many of these students still see the

United States as a super-power and a world leader. They seem to find it difficult to understand that the United States, having held the primary seat on the world stage, elected a person who is intending to build a wall in order to keep terrorists out.

Particularly, in consideration of the fact that the majority of the 9/11 attackers originated from Saudi Arabia, a country not listed on the President’s executive orders. The majority of undocumented immigrants are in the United States having overstayed their original visa authorizations and not as a result of having walked across either the southern or northern U.S. borders.

In an attempt to understand the American mindset regarding the presidential election, Gina stated the majority of her friends were pro-Hillary. When she asked an American friend if he would vote for Trump, her friend had replied: “I’d rather

74 vote for Mickey Mouse.” His response, therefore did not provide Gina with an answer to her question.

When the students were asked, if they had been able to vote, which candidate they would have elected, eight of the 14 stated they would have voted for

Hillary Clinton; four students would have voted for Donald J. Trump; and two students (from the same non-democratic country) would have abstained.

Harry, who was one of the four students who indicated he would have voted for Trump and stated he would become a Republican as soon as he became a naturalized citizen, defended Trump’s position:

“So I think there are people who are kind of misinformed about it, and are

quick to give their opinions on it, so someone that hears ‘oh Trump is going

to build a wall’ and they think he’s crazy or they hear Trump is banning

Muslims and they think he’s racist, and I don’t think they necessarily take

the time to analyze or actually read through the news, to actually understand

what’s going on. Just recently … I got into a huge argument over Trump

because the fact that he’s putting up with the media, … I don’t think there’s

any reason to fight with the media, … I think people are quick to hate him

and I think honestly, I don’t really see how relevant their opinion is to U.S.

politics either, I think each country has the right to elect their own president,

so I don’t think that the citizens’, of other countries, opinions should really

matter in U.S. domestic politics.”

Of the four students who indicated they would have voted for Trump, three were from the same continent. One of these three agreed with the “clear the swamp” rhetoric that Republican candidate Trump had repeatedly stated during his campaign rallies. This student also stated “voting for Trump was the lesser of two evils, as he did not trust Hillary.” The other two students, of these three students, although from different countries within the same continent, were both pro-Trump because of his professed business acumen. Both of these students claimed to be of

Republican orientation in their political philosophy. In furthering these discussions, the researcher discovered that three of these four students came from wealthy families, who had ties to political parties within their home country. This, the researcher deemed gave them an elitist status. It is easy to make elitist decisions about others’ situations when a lack of resources has never been within your personal experience.

After this line of questions, the next step was to determine whether the participating students had been impacted by President Trump’s executive orders which delved further into the immigration rhetoric. Subsequently arriving at research question number two.

RQ2: What are FIT international students’ perspectives on the executive orders signed by President Donald J. Trump on January 27 and March 6,

2017, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United

States?

All fourteen students expressed deep concern over the presidential executive orders. All of the students had been affected by the travel ban. Either on a very personal, first-hand, basis as was the case for Jared who had been expecting a visit from his parents, whom he had not seen for 4 years, since leaving his home country to study in the United States, or on a participatory basis, as was the case for

Edgar, when he attended the anti-executive order rally at the Orlando international airport (Orlando, Florida, United States of America).

Jared’s parents had acquired a tourist visa and were supposed to arrive in the United States at the time the travel ban was signed, so when the tourist visas were approved prior to the travel ban, according to Jared:

“They [parents] went there [embassy] and they got their visas immediately,

now they had their visa and their passport, ready to fly, and in just 3 days

before take-off, he [Trump] signed the executive order, everything was

stopped and canceled, so they waited for some weeks and that judge from

Seattle, Washington, he actually canceled the executive order, and

immediately 12 hours after the cancellation, they [parents] jumped on the

airplane and they came here.”

Edgar’s point of view was interesting in that he contrasted the environment he experienced in the United States after the signing of the executive orders, to that of his own country.

“I went to the rally against Trump’s executive orders and I saw some

Americans that are shouting against the president and the police is

protecting them.”

When asked if this surprised him, he replied:

“Yes, I expected that seeing that, but seeing that thing was somehow

surprising … I wouldn’t expect something like police hurting people but

seeing that thing from closest stance was touching.”

When asked if this was different from his own country, he replied:

“For sure the police or the cops are over there to protect the regime, not

protect people.”

Students, in general, felt that with Trump as the president of the United States, things were going to change, particularly for internationals. According to Jack:

“If you are an immigrant or not it doesn’t matter … with the travel ban … I

think people’s fears are slowly becoming a reality and I think it was just

coming up to a point that people want some support from people in the

United States cuz if the leader … wants you out, you really don’t have a

choice unless you have some support from their people … that was

interesting in the media, watching people in New York airport, people

[Muslims] were praying in public and everyone else was cheering them on

which I think … was just something quite surprising and lifting, as a

Muslim myself, because never, ever have I heard something like that

happening in the United States.

Several of the students expressed a concern with regard to President Trump’s personal comport. The issue being that he does not act presidential. It is not normal to have someone elected to the highest office in the United States, that behaves in the manner in which President Trump behaves. Although, Charlie was one of the four students who stated he would have voted for Trump, he nonetheless expressed concern over Trump’s non-presidential behavior:

“I’m worried, I’m more concerned with how he expresses himself. I feel

like for someone who has been such a successful businessman, he says

things in very, from my perspective, insensitive ways or not thought

through ways and I worry about it not just from an international student

perspective but just from a perspective in general that he’s gonna piss

someone off put a lot of people at risk that wouldn’t otherwise be in that

situation.”

In contrast, Danny, who is not from a democratically-ruled country, had an interesting point of view with regard to the executive orders:

“… as I said it’s the President of the United States. It’s his order. I mean we

have to follow him or listen to him.”

Gina expressed concern for colleagues affected by the executive orders:

“… actually, I feel bad for because I have a lot of friends from the country

that has been mentioned … like Yemen … Oman. I have a lot of friends.”

Frank addressed the legality of his personal status by stating:

“There’s a friend that says ‘Trump is going to deport you’ and basically

make jokes but every time I hear that I say that Trump haven’t really said

anything about legal immigrants here in the United States, he has made

emphasis on illegal immigrants, so as long as I’m here legally, I don’t feel

like I should be afraid of what Donald Trump is gonna to do because I came

to the United States through the correct routes and I’m going to remain here

in the United States as long as I keep the correct a legal status.”

Frank makes a valid point. He had the financial resources, access to a U.S. embassy, and the ability to apply to and enroll in a private U.S. university. Frank is not Muslim and he is not a person of color. Therefore, Frank’s perspective appears to easily align with President Trump’s.

In contrast, in addressing President Trump’s immigration rhetoric, Gary stated:

“…the rhetoric was just scary for us … it wasn’t welcoming and we talked

about how it made us feel. We joked about how we would be sent back

home and [laughter] and … their coming for you in 2 days and so just pack

your bag so [laughter] jokingly, jokingly, but just also there was an…yeah

fear.”

As Gary pointed out, this of course, is an especially scary situation when students are considering the possibility of potential deportation. The idea of possible deportation without the opportunity to complete their degree, along with the financial implications after having committed several years to pursuing a specific degree plan was stressful for these students. While they acknowledged their F-1 student / legal status, the travel ban had made an emotional impact even if their home country was not on the list. Additionally, moving forward whether trying to determine future travel plans and deciding to purchase airline tickets or not purchase airline tickets meant either they headed home for the upcoming summer break and reconnected with family and friends; or if they opted to remain in the United States and not risk being able to return to continue their studies, they were now faced with additional financial costs in acquiring a place to reside over the summer. As the students explained, based on their F-1 visa status, they are not

81 able to obtain employment in the United States. Remaining in the United States while not attending classes would add an additional financial burden.

The students went as far as questioning the seven countries on the list, as stated by Anne:

“First of all, he [President Trump] did something that is very unhuman.

How can you ban people from entering? And he only banned those

countries where the United States doesn’t have any business interests. He

didn’t ban Saudi Arabia, he didn’t ban Dubai [Dubai is one of seven

emirates in the United Arab Emirates], he didn’t ban Qatar, he didn’t ban all

of those countries because he has business there. One thing [that] should be

noted.”

Jared’s statement, when questioned about President Trump, stated he was very concerned and “ … not as an international student, as a human.”

In contrast to the executive orders’ exclusionary effect, Edgar, who is from one of the seven countries on the list, shared his experience on the feedback he was being given by American friends and international colleagues:

“The people from the United States try to be nice and say okay, don’t worry

if there’s something let us know, these things will pass and such, from

international students the people who from other countries, not the six

[other] countries, most of them are telling me that it doesn’t make sense,

nobody can do this to you, and this is a country that I think, mostly

supportive, most supportive.”

It is good to know that the community with whom Edgar interacts on a daily basis is supportive of him as a human being.

Having addressed access to news media and President Trump’s executive orders, the next research question related directly to Edgar’s input regarding the manner in which he was being treated by his colleagues. As the study progressed, the researcher’s next issue was to determine whether these students felt that, in light President Trump’s political discourse on immigration and in the signing and implementation of the executive orders, it was time to address research question number three.

RQ3: What are international students’ reactions to FIT President T. Dwayne

McCay’s email in response to the executive orders?

As a result of the execution and implementation of the executive orders, the

Florida Institute of Technology President, T. Dwayne McCay, had issued a mass email to the entire FIT student body expressing support to the international student body. As stated in the literature review, President McCay also participated in a news radio forum expressly stating support for the academic community and expressing concern over the impact the travel ban would have on the national

83 university system. This third research question was intended to determine what these students’ thought about Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) administration’s response to the issuance of President Trump’s executive orders.

Many of the students enrolled at FIT because of the percentage of international students enrolled, as expressed by Andy:

“… I mentioned that FIT is a global community, … if they are offering

someone admission, they want to put the racism, or you know,

discrimination against anyone, it’s because FIT is international. It’s very

much diverse and so and they would like to keep it that way, so from the

message [mass e-mail from FIT President McCay], I got that … it would be

better if we took the advice of the president [McCay and not Trump]…”

When asked what he thought specifically about the e-mail from FIT President

McCay; and did he think the email was appropriate and necessary? Andy responded:

“Yes, it was necessary and appropriate yes definitely … Yeah it is

absolutely good the at least the students that might be traveling they might

be cautious or they might be considering to cancel or not to go.”

When the question was posed to Charlie on whether he had received and read the email, and if so, what were his thoughts on the matter, he responded:

“… that our school is supportive of our international community and will

continue to do our best to support it at all times … I thought it was a good

thing. I thought it was a very supportive message from our president.”

When Charlie was asked if President McCay’s actions were expected, Charlie replied:

“From our school? Yes, because our school is literally ranked as the most

international university of all the universities in the United States … I was a

little skeptical I guess cuz, on the one hand, I wasn’t sure if it was purely

supportive [of the international student body] or if it was more

economically protective of the university’s interests, but that was just me

being skeptical.”

Gina was also familiar with the e-mail and responded empathically:

“Yeah, I received the email. Actually, I feel bad for, because I have a lot of

friends from the country that has been mentioned in the email like Yemen I

don’t know Oman I have a lot of friends.”

Upon further inquiry to ensure Gina understood the question was specifically addressing the email from FIT President McCay and did she agree? Gina replied:

“I did read the email and he wants us to turn together … of course, I am

happy to see his attitude … I still feel sorry for my friends who are very

nice people.”

In pressing Gina to relay her thoughts on what she recalled of the message and what she thought FIT President McCay was attempting to convey? Gina responded:

“I read the email twice because that sort of big news for us [international

students] so wants us to stay here and maybe think about it twice if you

want to go out of the country. So, I think yes, it is a very reasonable

suggestion, but he also wants us to … say that everyone needs to be equal

… we’re just the same people … we’re just students here, we didn’t make

any mistakes and we shouldn’t worry about that but things happen.”

As a final follow-up with Gina, she was asked if the email was something that she expected from the university based on her FIT experience thus far, or was it a surprise?

“Yeah of course! This is something absolutely that I expected because this

university is a diverse … yes because people from all over the world come

here to study and … because I read news about Donald Trump every day …

as soon as I read the email I think yeah finally he did it everyone should,

you know, pay more attention when he wants to get him build the wall

outside of the United States.”

When the question was posed to Danny regarding his impression of FIT President

McCay’s e-mail in response to the executive orders, Danny replied:

“…so I am that person I would feel like travel because I come to you as this

is a free country everyone says is a free country right, but why suddenly

everything changed the plans change I cannot accept that.”

In further pursuing this line of questioning, Danny was asked how he felt about the communication from the university? At the time he read the email, how did it make him feel? Was the email expected? Did he agree? Danny replied:

“…I just feel sorry for the students … I think the university is trying to

protect students I mean because the President of the FIT is trying to protect

students avoiding this issue when they want to come back to the United

States. They trying to protect students … yes because I don’t think he can

do anything because as I said it’s the President of the United States it’s his

order I mean we have to follow him or listen to him.”

In narrowing the scope on this question, Danny was then asked if this message affected his perception of the university (FIT) and again, was this something he expected from FIT administration?

“No, I don’t expected that when I saw the email I said really agree with that

and I understand.”

In continuing to attempt to understand whether Danny was affected by President

Trump’s actions, an inquiry was made on whether or not his own travel plans

87 would be affected as a result of the U.S. administration implementing the executive orders? As such, Danny responded:

“Yes, because even I heard some news like some [his nationality] students

when they go back and they’re trying to come back and then there’s more

restrictions where even some [his nationality] students won’t come back.”

When asking Frank what he thought about FIT President McCay’s email, Frank stated:

“…that Dr. McKay does not support the travel ban at all; that Dr. McKay

believes that diversity is our strongest point in university is diversity 41%

[sic] of the student population here in FIT is international and he believes

that a great deal of the United States, on what the United States was built on

was actual immigrants, and I do believe that immigrants play a big role here

in the United States and they should not ban immigrants based on the place

that that they come from even in doesn’t matter …”

In pursing this line of questioning, the researcher asked Frank what he thought the message intended to relay to FIT students? Frank replied:

“He [FIT President McCay] was just relaying a message of support to those

students. The students that come from, not only the student who come from

that country, because Trump can wake up one day and say of people from

[Frank’s country], they’re not allowed to come here anymore and say oh

wow so it’s a message of support to every student in university to tell them

that they matter, to tell them they are important. They are welcome here in

Florida Tech.”

When Frank received the email, what did he think about it what did he feel when he read it? Frank responded:

“… that it was interesting that Dr. McCay took a stance, not because he

shouldn’t, because at the end of the day he is the head of the university.

He’s the face of the university, but in this world where everyone is

politically correct, where I don’t want to take a stance because if I take a

stance I will be tagged as left-wing or right-wing … I think that it’s

important that he took a stance … the fact that he actually stood for

something that speaks volumes for Dr. McCay.”

When questioned about the email, Harry responded:

“Yeah I got an email about it from ISSS.”

Did Harry recall the information within the email? Harry replied:

“Yeah yeah they warned people who were citizens of those countries about

the potential risks … they, I don’t remember if they recommended if people

on that list not travel outside the United States or not, they might have, yes

they probably did, because they weren’t going to be able to come back, so

yea.”

When questioned on the email’s intended message? Harry reasoned:

“That that I think it’s exactly what is said, that they shouldn’t leave the

United States because of the travel restrictions would probably mean they

couldn’t come back.”

It is apparent from Harry’s response that he is not from a country affected by the executive orders. Harry was also one of the students who stated he intended to register as a Republican as soon as his naturalization paperwork went through.

Harry was a staunch supporter of President Trump.

When this discussion took place with Gary, he shared his recollection of the email:

“The strong affirmation from the president that the university is welcome to

people from all regions and that it is that inclusive nature of the university

that makes it a better place a better environment for that, I was really proud

to be a Panther [FIT’s mascot] because you know in a time when it

would’ve been easier to just keep quiet, the President said something. He

took the stand … showed support for the international student[s] … you

have students from … those countries on the on the list, so it would’ve sent

a horrible message if nothing was said, so I was really … impressed and

like it was a strong step.”

When Gary was asked what he thought the communication intended to relay? He stated:

“A couple of things. One, most especially I think to the campus community,

so both international and local FIT is welcoming to everyone and anyone

and, two, … you don’t now single out people, and I think that is one of the

strong messages that that letter sent … it sent a message that FIT is a

welcoming place, in effect a safe place was a way to describe it but it for

sure it was welcoming to everyone … that was really good.”

Interestingly, when this discussion was had with Irene, she pointed out that on the day President McCay released the email to the student body, an incident had occurred where a friend of hers had been subjected to a denigrating remark and in the instant when that occurred, her “white” friend had not spoken up on her behalf.

Irene felt President McCay’s email was very timely, as …

“… it was that same day that he [President McCay] said that [sent the

email] … it was more like a relief, like okay if things are not as bad as we

are thinking they are in case FIT will not just abandon you if that makes any

sense … so that’s how that came out to me when I read it and I think I also

thought that it was very strategically worded to not just include minority …

so I like thought about it … yes it was very inclusive.”

As a final follow-up question with Irene on this topic, the researcher asked, “How did it make you feel when you read that the read the email from him?” To which

Irene responded: “better … just simply better about the situation.”

In discussing this subject with Ian, he stated:

“Yeah I feel moved because you know President McKay, he’s the president

of the university and actually there’s a political events and he could even

order the restriction, it’s not his duty to send such email to student but he

did … his actions make the international students feel like oh Florida Tech

is a university and it wants me to study here and there’s a real diversity of

the many international students here and the diversity is the most important

here because there’s international students from the whole world.”

In asking Jack what he thought about the message when he first read it? Jack replied:

“I think it was it was a good it was a good gesture for him just to just to say

that he cares because of course it doesn’t affect any U.S. nationals or

anyone green card holder or PR [Permanent Residence] but just for him to

say that we care about all of you and diversity is our core value it was a big

achievement in itself.”

The researcher asked of Jack, “… how did that message make you feel?” Jack replied: “In one word, it made me feel assured.”

In summary, based on the students’ responses, it was quite evident they had received President McCay’s email in response to President Trump’s execution and implementation of the executive orders, termed “the travel ban.” The students much appreciated President McCay’s actions in standing up for them. While a couple of the students questioned whether his stance was based on economic necessity, the majority of the students simply acknowledged a sense of gratitude in knowing they were supported by FIT’s administration in this time of high anxiety. Several expressed a concern regarding the idea that just because their country was not on the current travel ban list, it did not necessarily mean President Trump would not, at some arbitrary later date, add more countries to the travel ban list.

In concluding the research on the students’ sentiments regarding President

McCay’s response to the execution and implementation of President Trump’s executive orders, and in addressing their “sense of belonging at FIT,” the next and final research question was addressed.

Research question number four was an attempt to determine whether or not the international students would consider remaining in the United States to continue their current enrollment at FIT and whether they were considering participation in post-graduation training opportunities based on the extent to which they had been personally affected by President Trump’s political discourse on immigration.

Based on President Trump’s rhetoric would they rather return to their home country

93 or would they possibly elect to seek training and employment in countries other than the United States. In recalling President Kennedy’s sentiment “America is

America because of its immigrant population,” it makes economic sense to retain as many highly trained, skilled, and qualified workers in the United States.

RQ4: Based on President Donald J. Trump’s political discourse on immigration, what do FIT international students think about continuing their studies at FIT and potential future participation in the Optional Practical Training program?

All 14 students stated, given the opportunity, they would continue their studies at FIT. This response was partly due to a sense of belonging, but more accurately due to the unfortunate loss of credit and financial equity invested in the courses already taken at FIT. It is not easy to transfer from one university to another without losing credits or having to take additional courses to meet the given university’s core curriculum. Financially, it is much better to stay the course.

Interestingly, out of the 14 students, there were only two students who indicated they would not choose to remain in the United States post-graduation.

Irene had enrolled at FIT to participate in a very specific program for which she had employment waiting for her upon returning to her home country. Anne took issue with the fact that she had to apply for and be accepted to the Optional

Training Program. Anne very much believed that if she had attended a U.S.

94 university, follow-on training should simply be part of the program. Returning to her home country was not an option, because the type of work for which she was seeking her undergraduate degree was not available in her home country. However, if she took her “American” degree and attempted to seek employment in another country, she felt she would have a difficult time acquiring employment with just a degree and no employment history. Anne also disagreed with the fact that international students are not permitted to seek employment while enrolled at university. She strongly felt this did students a disservice by not permitting them to gain the necessary work experience to apply for employment on a global scale upon graduation. The researcher suggested to Anne that she contact ISSS because there are opportunities for students to intern based on their skillset. Anne pushed back stating those positions were not paid positions and she would be responsible for funding her own apartment and transportation during the summer months, a luxury her family could not afford. Interestingly, Anne had other siblings who were all enrolled in universities outside of her home country, either in the United States or the United Kingdom.

In responding to research question number four, Ian replied:

“I think it will not affect [his decision to continue enrollment at FIT]

… cuz … FIT is a university. I learn now from here, there is no

discrimination here and I still believe that most of the Americans they do

not discriminate the foreigners, they do not discriminate the immigrants and

cuz you know some of the people they discriminate the immigrants they are

kind of stupid and they unemployed and are not educated as so they blame

their … unemployment to the immigrant I think that stupid actually I think

most of Americans they still they’re smart still care.”

While this would have led to a very interesting discussion with regard to Ian seemingly correlating unemployment, to a lack of education, to discrimination against immigrants; once again, time constraints compelled the researcher to continue with the topic at hand.

Andy had his own perspective on OPT participation, which was based on information he had gained from online news media. When asked if he would continue enrollment at FIT and seek participation in OPT post-graduation, Andy stated:

“Yes, but it could be that Trump says OPT should be reduced for students,

he could make it a year. It is 2 years now, but he may make it a year.”

Although, this next response from Andy was in line with earlier questioning regarding whether or not he had personally been impacted by the implementation of the executive orders, at that point, he had brought up OPT, which is now included in this segment:

“… OPT means you can stay and work, but if you go back there’s a

chance they won’t let you in because you’re on OPT and no more a student,

so initially you should have a non-immigration thinking that that you don’t

have to migrate to the United States that’s what we get the visa purposes

on.”

In asking Andy for clarification, he stated he thought he might be affected in the long run by Trump’s rhetoric, by the current administration’s rulings on immigration, because of the potential impact on, for example, the H-1B program.

In light of the fact that the Trump administration is anti-immigration and therefore, resulting policies and regulations will support this mindset, according to Andy.

In light of President Trump’s election and divisive political discourse on immigration, these students stated they are constantly concerned for their future; their future enrollment at the university; their future employment. If given the opportunity these students would prefer to remain in the United States to seek employment post-graduation. Even in light of the actions taken by the current administration.

This study found the responses, of the fourteen students interviewed, to be consistent. First, in their interest and daily access to news media; second, in their familiarity with U.S. political discourse; third, in their apprehension of the potential

97 domino effect of President Trump’s executive orders; fourth, their overall opinion of FIT administration’s support to continued campus diversity in light of the implementation of the executive orders; and finally, regardless of the U.S. political atmosphere and President Donald J. Trump’s continued agenda-setting political discourse on immigration, these students remain committed to continued enrollment at FIT and remain interested in applying to the OPT program post- graduation.

Many of the students expressed an unrest over the incivility of President

Trump’s rhetoric. His continued divisive discourse on immigration is of great concern. This issue at hand is not just the topic of immigration, as “rightly or wrongly, immigrants have been a popular scapegoat for society’s ills throughout history” (Orrenius & Zavodny, 2012, p. 948). The bigger issue is President

Trump’s divisive discourse, in general. The trepidation, felt by this small sample of

FIT international students, is legitimate. It is not a simple matter of “illegal immigration,” it is a matter of undocumented citizens. In the introductory chapter of Benet Davetian’s book Civility, A Cultural History (2014, p. 3), he begins with a quote by Harriett Martineau: “I am sure that no traveler seeing things through author’s spectacles can see them as they are.” This appears to be a poignant representation of the manner in which President Trump views immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers; particularly in light of the manner in which the

98 executive orders were implemented. His position on immigration is antithetical to his own lived experience. It is exceptionally ironic that President Trump attacks those whom he deems as not American, as his first and current wife, both, became naturalized U.S. citizens only after and as a result of being married to him (Frates,

2015, n.p.). On March 1, 2018, The Washington Post broke a story regarding

Trump’s current wife, formerly a Slovenian model Melania Knauss, on her extraordinary accomplishment of having acquired her permanent U.S. residency via an EB-1 visa (Jordan, 2018, para. 1). The question is not whether the current Mrs.

Trump arrived at her U.S. residential designation legally, it is more a matter of

Trump’s complete lack of self-reflection in accounting for his own personal situation. For example, his damning tweet of Jeb Bush’s wife, in not considering his own wives’ immigration entry status. Again, in his total lack of perspective in the execution of the travel ban(s) when considering the number of permanent residents (green-card holders) were delayed entry into the United States or denied entry entirely as a result of the hastily executed travel ban. He simply appears to lack a sense of civility and decency for humanity. The issue arises in his bracketing and criminalizing all immigrants. The issue is in his total and unabashed disregard for the “huddled masses yearning to be free, the wretched refuse, and the homeless” that are in the United States to make a new life; build a new home; educate their children; contribute to and become a contributing member to all that is America.

Immigrants are important in their continued contribution to the U.S. economy, as illustrated in an archived document found on the U.S. government’s Department of

Homeland Security’s website (Department of Homeland Security, 2012). This document attests to immigrant’s contributions by stating “in recent years, a full 25 percent of high-tech startups in the United States were founded by immigrants, leading to more than 200,000 jobs in America” (Department of Homeland Security,

2012, para. 3). It is reported by the U.S. news media, that American citizens are often known to express “immigrants are taking our jobs.” However, there are numerous videos on YouTube that show evidence to the contrary. A YouTube search for “are immigrants taking our jobs?” or “a day without immigrants” will produce results for a countless number of videos which address this concern. These videos imply most average Americans are simply not willing to endure low waged, back-breaking, laborious work. Work, such as in the agricultural, dairy, or construction industries, which is often conducted in the sweltering heat or frigid cold as these tend to be outdoor occupations.

In a Think podcast entitled “High Tech versus Low Tech: Options for the

Border” (Boyd, 2018, podcast), Associate Professor Luis Torres stated that there has been a reduction in the number of people entering the United States from

Mexico. One major reason for this is a result of improved economic and safety conditions within Mexico. This is not true, however for the number of people

100 entering the United States from Central America. The reason people from Central

America continue to attempt to immigrate to the United States is and will be to seek a better life for themselves and their families. Additionally, Professor Torres emphasized that history has shown that people who attempt to enter for nefarious reasons (illegal activity) have and will continue to find a way to breach border security. The government will continue to play a multifaceted role in addressing these concerns. The key point to take away from Professor Torres’ discussion is that the majority of people [human beings … not aliens] leave their home countries to seek a better life. During the interview process, this was perfectly explained by

Danny when he was asked if he desired to return to his home country or would he prefer to remain in the United States, to which he responded:

“I mean I haven’t decided yet because I can’t imagine what’s going to happen

maybe after 10 or 20 years as some people say there will be the war right so

who knows what will happen, but for me I just want to find a peace place [a

peaceful place] … that I can do that I the things I like, like research I’m doing I

really like it and the reason I like here is because some big companies I really

attract me like doing really fancy stuff like the [major U.S. companies named]

… I think it’s great that the really the earth people that invented that the aliens

[immigrants] helped to invent that it’s really cool, yea so I really hope I can

work with the other companies to get something done, and after 10, 20 or 15

101

years I can tell my son or grandson this is the kind of things I was involved part

of it designed it. I will be very proudful for so that’s the reason I want to stay

here.”

When interviewing Gary, he was interested in who I had voted for and why

I was interested in this particular study, to which I responded:

“When the aliens arrive and their blood is green, and we’re all [earthlings]

going to be the same because we have red blood, right, because regardless

of what is going on on the outside, we’re the same on the inside … I feel

like from my parents… they wanted to have an education, they wanted their

kids to have a better life and healthcare and food on the table, basic ….”

Gary finished my sentence, “human rights.”

The Washington Post’s motto: “Democracy dies in darkness” is a poignant reminder of the necessity to continue to address President Trump’s divisive political discourse. This motto, along with words from Led Zeppelin’s, The

Immigrant Song: “for peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing”

(Page & Plant, 1970), continues to inspire and give hope. As long as there are investigative reporters, such as those on The Washington Post, who continue to shine the light on individuals elected into office who claim to represent all of

America, but instead act on their own selfish behalf once in office; and there are people who continue to seek a life of peace (like Danny) and place their trust in

102

American democratic values, the United States will survive and overcome Trump’s divisive political discourse. Even when he makes moronic comments such as he did on January 12, 2018, when he stated: “Why do we want all these people from

'shithole countries' coming here?" (Watkins & Phillip, 2018, para. 1). Donald J.

Trump needs to be reminded not just of the individuals such as Sunita Williams, an

FIT graduate of Indian-Slovenian descent who went on to become a U.S. astronaut and Elon Musk, originally from South Africa, but now a leader in U.S. space technology. Two of the YouTube founders are immigrants, Jawed Karim

(Germany) and Steve Chen (Taiwan), as is one of the inventors of Google, Sergey

Brin (Soviet Union); these individuals, along with the many immigrant men and women who work in the agriculture, restaurant, motel, and construction business.

Immigrants who came to the United States and who worked hard to earn the right to live the American dream.

Limitations and Recommendations for Future Research

It would have been interesting to conduct this study as a quantitative study in order to assess quantities of international students effected by President Trump’s rhetoric. There are many areas in which this study can be quantified and

103 catalogued. For example, dimensions between gender-related responses; along with potential distinctions amongst different degrees (majors) pursued. Additionally, a break-down of responses based on country of origin. In addressing immigration concerns outside of FIT, it would be interesting to conduct a study to determine the ratio between the number of undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes compared to the contributions made to the U.S. economy by undocumented immigrants. Yes, a difficult figure to arrive at due to the challenge of reaching undocumented individuals.

Also, it would be interesting to interview this same group of students again as a longitudinal study with regards to international students’ perspectives a year after President Trump’s inauguration. It would also be interesting to assess whether students’ perspectives correlated with country of origin and level of adaptation to the United States and U.S. cultural integration. A comparison of entry and exit surveys would be a valuable tool to assess students’ attitude adjustment during their time at FIT. It would be useful to the university to determine where and if improvements can be made with regard to acculturation of students.

Additionally, recommended for future research would obviously be to interview a greater number of international students. Finally, as an interesting contrast, it would be interesting to include American students in order to assess whether American

104 students have the same level of awareness of U.S. political discourse as their international student colleagues.

In finalizing this study, this researcher understands President Trump’s administration is attempting to address undocumented immigrants. However, in doing so and by using vernacular such as “illegal” immigrants versus undocumented immigrants and “aliens” versus immigrants, it takes away from the dignity of addressing this group of people from a point of view in which we are all one global human community. It seems ironic that when Trump mispronounced

“hombres” (men) and instead said “hambres” (hungers), in a single word he described why people from across the globe choose to leave their home country and immigrate to the United States of America. People from across the globe come to the United States because they are hungry. Hungry for a better and safer life than the one they left behind. Hungry for an education for themselves and their children.

Hungry for the opportunity to work hard in order to live the American dream.

Unlike President Trump who claims he had a hard life because his father only gave him a small loan of a million dollars, which he had to pay back with interest, my father made sure I grew up with a good work ethic, where he often mentored, “If you don’t have enough money in your pocket, it’s because you’re not working hard enough, because there’s always work to be done or you’re not living within your means.” I am living the American dream.

105

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Appendix A: Institutional Review Board Approval

IRB approval attached

Fit_irb To: EJ Castor Cc: Dzmitry Yuran Attachments: Notice of Exempt Review St~1.doc (137 KB)[Open as Web Page] Good luck with your study EJ!

Dr. Lisa Steelman Chair Florida Tech IRB Senior Associate Dean Chair I/O Psychology [email protected] ======

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Notice of Exempt Review Status

Certificate of Clearance for Human Participants Research

Principal Elma M. Castor Investigator:

Date: February 13, 2017

17-019 IRB Number:

An analysis of Florida Institute of Technology international students' perception of President Donald J Trump's Twitter rhetoric on immigrants and minorities and Study Title: possible effects on their motivation to continue their enrollment at the university and to pursue career development opportunities in the United States

Your research protocol was reviewed and approved by the IRB Chairperson. Per federal regulations, 45 CFR 46.101, your study has been determined to be minimal risk for human subjects and exempt from 45 CFR46 federal regulations and further IRB review or renewal unless you change the protocol or add the use of participant identifiers. All data, which may include signed consent form documents, must be retained in a secure location for a minimum of three years (six if HIPAA applies)

136 past the completion of this research. Any links to the identification of participants should be maintained on a password-protected computer if electronic information is used. Access to data is limited to authorized individuals listed as key study personnel. The category for which exempt status has been determined for this protocol is as follows: 2. Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior so long as confidentiality is maintained. a. Information is recorded in such a manner that the subject cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the participant and/or Subject’s responses, if know outside the research would not reasonably place the subject at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subject’s financial standing, employability, or reputation.

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Appendix B: Participant Consent Form

COURSE: Com 5999 (Graduate Thesis)

DATE: 1 February 2017

RESEARCH TO BE CONDUCTED: Study on FIT International Students’ Perceptions of U.S. Political Communication over Social Media; current U.S. political rhetoric; and recent U.S. political development PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR: Elma M. Castor GRADUATE THESIS ADVISOR: Professor Dzmitry Yuran

INFORMED CONSENT FORM FOR RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

Purpose of the Study. As part of my graduate thesis research, I am conducting a study on FIT international students’ perceptions of U.S. political communication over social media; current U.S. political rhetoric; and recent U.S. political development.

For this study, I will conduct a one-on-one (individual) interview with a volunteer participant who meets the criteria. The interview will be recorded and transcribed.

Why have you been asked to take part? Because you meet the specific criteria for this study:

1. You are an international student 2. You are 18 years old or older 3. You are actively enrolled at FIT 4. You have indicated you are familiar U.S. political communication

Do you have to take part?

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No. Participation is voluntary.

If you would like to discontinue from participating at any time during this study, you have the right discontinue participation at any time.

Will your participation in this study be kept confidential?

Yes. I will ensure that no clues to your identity appear in the thesis. Any extracts from what you say that are quoted in the thesis will be entirely anonymous by the random assignment of a pseudonym.

What will happen to the information which you give?

The specific information collected will be kept confidential from third parties.

Will it be destroyed after a period?

The data gathered will be kept confidential for the duration of the study. On completion of the thesis, data will be retained for a further 6 months and then destroyed.

What will happen to the results?

The results from the data gathered will be presented in the study and discussed in my final thesis paper. This will be seen by my Graduate Thesis Advisor, Graduate Thesis Committee Members, and the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The thesis may be published in a research journal.

What are the possible disadvantages of taking part?

Your participation in this study is voluntarily. There is no penalty for refusing to participate or withdrawing from the project. Your grades and evaluation of your academic performance at the university will not be affected by participation or refusal to participate. While I don’t envisage any negative consequences for you in taking part, it is possible that talking about this topic may cause some distress.

What if there is a problem?

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At the end of the interview, I will discuss with you how you found the experience and how you are feeling. If you subsequently feel distressed, you should contact the FIT Health Clinic.

Who has reviewed this study?

My Thesis Advisor and the IRB.

Any further queries? If you need any further information, you can contact me:  Elma M. Castor  (321) 684-2369 (mobile)  [email protected]

If you agree to take part in the study, please sign the consent form.

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Appendix C: Participant Consent Form Signature Page

I, (print your name) ______, agree to participate in “FIT International Students’ Perception of U.S. political communication as part of this graduate thesis research study.

The purpose and nature of the study has been explained to me in writing.

I am participating voluntarily.

I give permission for my interview with randomly assigned pseudonym to be tape- recorded.

I understand that there is no penalty for refusing to participate or withdrawing from this study.

I understand that I can withdraw from this study, without repercussions, at any time, whether before it starts or while I am participating.

I understand my grades and evaluation of my academic performance at the university will not be affected by participation or refusal to participate.

I understand that anonymity will be ensured in the write-up by disguising my identity.

I understand that disguised extracts from my interview may be quoted in the thesis and any subsequent publications if I give permission below:

Please tick one box:

I agree to quotation/publication of extracts from my interview

I do not agree to quotation/publication of extracts from my interview

Signed______Date______

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Appendix D: FIT Staff Consent Form

COURSE: Com 5999 (Graduate Thesis) DATE: 17 March 2017 RESEARCH TO BE CONDUCTED: Study on FIT International Students’ Perceptions of U.S. Political Communication over Social Media; current U.S. political rhetoric; and recent U.S. political development PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR: Elma M. Castor GRADUATE THESIS ADVISOR: Professor Dzmitry Yuran

INFORMED CONSENT FORM FOR RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

For this study, I will conduct a one-on-one (individual) interview with an FIT Staff member who meets the criteria. The interview will be recorded and transcribed.

Why have you been asked to take part? Because you meet the specific criteria for this study:

1. You are an FIT Staff Member 2. You are involved in providing support to International Students 3. You are involved in providing communication to International Students regarding school policy 4. You have indicated you are familiar U.S. political discourse

Do you have to take part?

No. Participation is voluntary.

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If you would like to discontinue from participating at any time during this study, you have the right discontinue participation at any time.

Will your participation in this study be kept confidential?

What will happen to the information which you give?

The specific information collected will be kept confidential from third parties.

Will it be destroyed after a period?

The data gathered will be kept confidential for the duration of the study. On completion of the thesis, data will be retained for a further 6 months and then destroyed.

What will happen to the results?

The thesis may be published in a research journal.

What are the possible disadvantages of taking part?

What if there is a problem?

143

At the end of the interview, I will discuss with you how you found the experience and how you are feeling. If you subsequently feel distressed, you should contact the FIT Health Clinic.

Who has reviewed this study?

My Thesis Advisor and the IRB.

Any further queries? If you need any further information, you can contact me:  Elma M. Castor  (321) 684-2369 (mobile)  [email protected]

If you agree to take part in the study, please sign the consent form.

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Appendix E: FIT Staff Consent Form Signature Page

I, (print your name) ______, agree to participate in “FIT International Students’ Perception of U.S. political discourse as part of this graduate thesis research study.

The purpose and nature of the study has been explained to me in writing.

I am participating voluntarily.

I give permission for my interview with title and position only (and not my name) to be tape-recorded.

I understand that there is no penalty for refusing to participate or withdrawing from this study.

I understand that I can withdraw from this study, without repercussions, at any time, whether before it starts or while I am participating.

I understand my evaluation of my performance at the university will not be affected by participation or refusal to participate.

I understand that disguised extracts from my interview may be quoted in the thesis and any subsequent publications if I give permission below:

Please tick one box:

I agree to quotation/publication of extracts from my interview

I do not agree to quotation/publication of extracts from my interview

Signed______Date______

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Appendix F: Student Interview Guide

Standard Preliminary Questions for Qualitative Interview (McCracken, 1988) Today’s Date / Time: Location: Participant’s Randomly Assigned Pseudonym: Gender: Age: Country of Origin: On Student Visa: Type? Years at FIT: Major: 1. What is your perception of U.S. political discourse? 2. How do you receive your information on U.S. politics? 3. Are you familiar with the political communication released via the social media? 4. Which social media outlets do you personally follow? 5. Are there any social media outlets that you follow to obtain U.S. political discourse? 6. Do you receive information from a home country source? 7. If you do receive information from a home country source, is the information comparable to that of the U.S. media? 8. Do you engage in political discourse with your colleagues? 9. Do you engage in political discourse with other international students or only with students from your own home country? 10. How would you describe these discussions? 11. Have you had to adjust your plans or lifestyle based on the U.S. political discourse you are receiving? 12. Do you think you will adjust your travel plans based on the Presidential Executive Orders? 13. In your opinion, how are other students you engage with on campus reacting to the U.S. political discourse? 14. Have you been personally affected by the U.S. election outcome? 15. How so? 16. Do you discuss the Presidential election amongst peers from your home country?

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17. Do you discuss the Presidential election amongst peers from your same cultural background? 18. Did you discuss the Presidential election amongst students from other cultural backgrounds? 19. Do you find you or your peers are reluctant to hold discussions regarding American politics? 20. As an international student, are you concerned about President Trump as a U.S. President? 21. What concerns you the most? 22. Do you perceive U.S. political discourse affecting your attitude towards continued enrollment at FIT? 23. Are you familiar with the Optional Practical Training (OPT) Program offered to international students post-graduation? 24. If you are familiar with OTP, have you considered participating in this Program post-graduation? 25. Has the current political discourse affected your perception of this program? 26. If you had been able to vote in the U.S. presidential election, for which President would you have voted or would you have abstained based on the candidates? 27. Why? 28. Do you follow political discourse in your home country? 29. Do you perceive President Trump’s actions as having an affect on your home country? 30. This concludes our interview. Is there anything else you would like to add?

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Appendix G: FIT Staff Interview Guide

Standard Preliminary Questions for Qualitative Interview (McCracken, 1988) Today’s Date: Place: Time: Position at FIT: How many years in this position: 1. What is your role at FIT? 2. How are you involved in supporting the International Student Body? 3. What has been your role in communicating the university’s message to International Students regarding the Executive Orders which prohibited travel to the U.S.? 4. Do you agree with the university’s handling of this matter? 5. In your opinion, is there anything that could have been done to provide better support to the International students during this time? 6. In your perception, how are FIT international students handling this situation? 7. What kind of feedback / response are you getting from international students based on the efforts made by the university’s communication addressing the Executive Order(s). 8. Have any international students asked for assistance to remain in the U.S. for fear of not being able to return to continue their studies after the summer break? 9. Have any international students stated they will not return to FIT because of their perception of the Executive Order(s)? 10. What have you or the university done to mitigate these perceptions? 11. Break out into two separate, ISSS message // University’s message 12. Did you draft the University’s message? 13. Provide factual information to quelch rumors. 14. Get to mechanics…follow on which social media site? Who do you follow? Specifically? Do you get your information from your friends or directly from news sources? If so, which? 15. Which sources do you use to obtain information about U.S. Politics?: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google, Yahoo, Reddit, Vine, Meetup, LinkedIn, Flickr, Ozone, News Outlets (CNN, Fox News, BBC) , Newspapers (The Washington Post, USA Today, NY Times, etc.) 16. Trust information from family members more than media sources?

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17. What do they think of communication from University? What do you recall? How do you feel about the communication relayed by the university? Overall picture of students’ perception on political communication and within, the university’s role in communication to students.

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Appendix H: E-mail to International Students

To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Help EJ Finish Her Master’s Thesis - Volunteer 1 Hour

Greetings International Students -

I am in my final semester and working on my graduate thesis in the Global Strategic Communication Program. Some might remember me from when I hosted and produced the International Student Spotlights (http://wfit.org/programs/international-student-spotlight#stream/0) as a WFIT volunteer during the Spring, Summer, and Fall 2015 semesters.

You can help if you meet the following criteria:

 You are actively enrolled at FIT as an International student  You are 18 years old or older  You are familiar with U.S. politics

This study has been approved and received ethics clearance by the Florida Institute of Technology Institutional Review Board.

EJ Castor Graduate Student School of Arts and Communication

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Appendix I: Flyer Posted on Campus Announcement Boards

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR RESEARCH STUDY

FIT international students’ perceptions of U.S. political communication over social media; current U.S. political rhetoric; and recent U.S. political development

For more information, or to volunteer for this study, please contact: E-mail: EJ Castor: [email protected] School of Arts and Communication

This study has been approved and received ethics clearance by the Florida Institute of Technology Institutional Review Board.

[email protected] E DiscourseU.S. Political Research:

[email protected] E [email protected] E Research: [email protected] E Research: [email protected] E Research: [email protected] E Research: [email protected] E Research: Research:

U.S. Discourse Political U.S. Discourse Political U.S. Discourse Political U.S. Discourse Political U.S. Discourse Political U.S. Discourse Political

------

mail: EJ Castor mail: mai EJ Castor mail: EJ Castor mail: EJ Castor mail: EJ Castor mail:

l: EJl: Castor

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Appendix J: Flyer Disseminated Within FIT Classrooms

U.S. POLITICAL DISCOURSE Hello, I am a Graduate Student in my final semester in the School of Arts and Communication, Global Strategic Communication Program at the Florida Institute of Technology Main Campus. As part of my graduate thesis research, I am conducting a study on FIT international students’ perceptions of U.S. political communication over social media; current U.S. political rhetoric; and recent U.S. political development. If you are interested in participating in my study and meet the following criteria, the information to contact me is provided below:  International student  18 years old or older  Actively enrolled at FIT main campus  Familiar with current U.S. political communication Your participation in this study is voluntarily. There is no penalty for refusing to participate or withdrawing from the project. Your grades and evaluation of your academic performance at the university will not be affected by participation or refusal to participate. While I don’t envisage any negative consequences for you in taking part, it is possible that talking about this topic may cause some distress. For more information, or to volunteer for this study, please contact: E-mail: EJ Castor: [email protected] School of Arts and Communication

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Appendix K: Participant Assigned Pseudonyms

This study has been approved and received ethics clearance by the Florida Institute of Technology Institutional Review Board.

Female Male Anne Andy Becky Bobby Cindy Charlie Debbie Danny Elaine Edgar Francine Frank Gina Gary Henrietta Harry Irene Ian Juliet Jared