This week the article that caught my eye most was an article regarding the teen girl from Saudi Arabia who fled and was seeking asylum in Canada. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, an eighteen years old, feared for her life in Saudi Arabia, due to her family situation, resulting in her leaving and taking a one way ticket to Canada. After not being granted asylum when Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun first got to Canada, Qunun trapped herself in and airport hotel room. However, with help an instagram hashtag bringing attention to the issue through social media, Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun gained asylum.
After reading this article, I wondered why Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun was seeking asylum in either Canada or Australia and not the United States. America was founded on immigrants and is known as the melting pot of the world. America could have never gotten by without the foundation of its population being immigrants. However, I thought of the time the country is in right now. The president of the United States is currently in a dispute with his country regarding the security of the country. Trump demands it is essential for the security of America to build a wall on the Mexican border to put a halt to things such as drugs. These anti-immigration conversations by the President might have had something to do with why Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun chose Canada rather than the U.S. I feel as if Canada has become more open to immigration.
Additionally, I feel like another reason for Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun chose Canada rather than the U.S. might revolve around how the U.S. and Saudi Arabia haven’t recently been on good terms lately. With the whole Jamal Khashoggi debacle, Saudi Arabia has been running on thin terms with the United States. This also might have been taken into consideration when Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun chose Canada to seek asylum.