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In Gary Shteyngart's Absurdistan, the central conflict revolves around Russian citizen Misha Vainberg attempting to obtain entrance to America at all costs. His desperate plight is comically heightened by the fact that he ends up in the middle of a civil war being staged with shady ulterior motives and is forced to repeatedly endanger his life to escape unscathed with his precious Belgian visa. Though I was disappointed Absurdistan is not in fact real- I wanted to invade visit- I found Misha's plight relevant to the current political climate. Misha is a privileged immigrant in many ways: he is wealthy, well-educated, and previously lived in America for eight years. However, due to his father's murder of an American businessman, he has been banned from entering the US. Thus, due to the actions of an extremist who he is associated with yet ideologically disparate from, he has been prevented from reuniting with his loved ones in the country he wanted to build a future in. Such is the plight of the many potential immigrants who have been denied entry due to Trump's travel ban. And they are actually fleeing war-torn countries, not a utopia like the motherland. Misha's exploits in pursuit of a visa are no longer quite so hilarious when one realizes people do risk their lives for a chance at American citizenship. Just as Misha's hopes are dashed by the occurrence of 9/11, many real individuals were in fact denied a new life due to the travel ban. The situation is dire enough that illegal immigrants are attempting to flee over the Canadian border due to fear of deportation. One would think that America, a nation built and sustained by refugees and immigrants, would adopt a more welcoming stance.

Such a great tip of the hat between your title and Hamilton. Very clever.