© Carlos Barria / Reuters
US President Donald Trump has defended his executive order on immigration which restricts access to citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations to the US. Rejecting the 'Muslim ban' label, he said it will only be in place until new security policies are implemented. "To be clear,
this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion -
this is about terror and keeping our country safe," Trump said in a statement, adding that there are more than "40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order."
"We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days," he clarified. Trump then explained his executive order, which bars entry of foreign citizens from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iran, motivated by the urge to be "protecting our own citizens and border."
He then questioned the reaction of the media, saying that
former president Barack Obama actually issued a related order, adding it was during Obama's term that the seven countries picked for Trump's ban were pinned. "My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror," Trump said.
Earlier, Trump responded to the joint
statement of Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, in which they criticized the decision-making process behind Trump's executive order on immigration and argued it "may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security."
"The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong - they are sadly weak on immigration.
Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III," Trump
tweeted.
On Saturday evening, Judge Ann Donnelly from New York's Eastern district issued a temporary emergency stay on the order in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of two Iraqi immigrants, Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi. The ruling prohibits authorities from deporting immigrants who had already arrived or were on their way to the US. Judge Donnelly's ruling was promptly followed by similar pronouncements by other US judges in Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington.
In Boston, Judge Allison Burroughs and Magistrate Judge Judith Dein imposed a seven-day restraining order on the ban's implementation. A temporary restraining halting the deportation of affected migrants was also issued by Judge Leonie Brinkema, in the Eastern District of Virginia, who also ruled that detained immigrants be granted access to lawyers. However, senior US administration officials cited by Reuters, say all of Trump's executive orders remain in effect and are being enforced.
The travel ban order has been a "massive success story," an unnamed official told Reuters.
Dozens of migrants have been stranded at US airports since Trump signed the order, with several hundred either detained in transit or refused boarding on US-bound flights.
Starting Saturday, hundreds of Americans flocked to airports calling for the ban to be lifted while expressing outrage at Trump's order. Protesters are also demanding the immediate release of detained immigrants. At JFK airport in New York City - where at least 12 immigrants were detained in accordance with the ban - the protest was backed by taxi drivers who joined the action, with the New York Taxi Alliance announcing a one-hour work stoppage.
Comment: President Donald Trump:
Violence is an attack on humanity and it's got to be stopped. See also:
The reaction to Trump's executive order has been fiery. But keep in mind these:
Protests (at least some
Soros-funded), condemnations from foreign leaders and allies, a media frenzy. Yet:
Customs agents ignore judge, enforce Trump's travel ban: ACLU
The ACLU is getting "multiple reports" that federal customs agents are siding with President Trump — and willfully ignoring a Brooklyn federal judge's demand that travelers from seven Muslim countries not be deported from the nation's airports.
Unions of Border Patrol, ICE agents cheer Trump actions
Joint Press Release Between Border Patrol and ICE Councils
As representatives of the nation's Frontline immigration officers and agents responsible for enforcing our laws and protecting our borders, we fully support and appreciate President Trump's swift and decisive action to keep the American people safe and allow law enforcement to do its job. We applaud the three executive orders he has issued to date, and are confident they will make America safer and more prosperous. Morale amongst our agents and officers has increased exponentially since the signing of the orders. The men and women of ICE and Border Patrol will work tirelessly to keep criminals, terrorists, and public safety threats out of this country, which remains the number one target in the world - and President Trump's actions now empower us to fulfill this life saving mission, and it will indeed save thousands of lives and billions of dollars.
As Scott Adams pointed on in the piece above, Trump's move is predictably confusing, chaotic, and somewhat scary. And the reactions he needs to (hopefully) negotiate to the middle are already there: the far-right are happy, and the far-left will be relieved when he finalizes his less radical permanent solution.
Priebus tried to clarify the chaos when asked whether the ban affected green-card holders - first saying the order doesn't affect them, then saying it did, because they may be "subjected temporarily with more questioning" until a better program takes effect in the future:
Asked whether that constituted "affecting" or "not affecting" green card holders, Priebus said, "The executive order doesn't affect green card holders moving forward. I said that. But what I'm suggesting to you is that Customs and Border Patrol... if they have a person that's traveling back and forth to Libya or Somalia or Yemen, I would suspect within their discretion, they might ask a few more questions [at airports] when someone's coming back and forth within their discretionary authority as a customs and border patrol agent."
...
He also said that other countries, Saudi Arabia among them, could be added to the travel ban.
Referring to the chaotic scenes at airports, yesterday, Priebus was asked whether a grace period on enforcing the ban might have been helpful. "I don't think you want to have a grace period, Chuck, because then people that want to do bad things to Americans just move up their travel dates," he said.
He also said the administration had been working with DHS and US Customs and Border Protection for some time before the order was signed, and that the agencies were quite prepared. "And so it wasn't chaos," he said. Priebus said 325,000 people from foreign countries came into the US yesterday, and 109 people were detained briefly. "Most of those people were moved out. We've got a couple dozen more that remain. And I would suspect as long as they're not awful people that they will move through before another half a day today. And perhaps some of these people should be detained further. And if they're folks that shouldn't be in this country they're going to be detained. And so apologize for nothing here."
...
The DHS issued a press release on the ban January 29, in which it said it would continue to enforce all presidential executive orders. "Approximately 80 million international travelers enter the United States every year," the DHS reported. "Yesterday, less than one percent of the more than 325,000 international air travelers who arrive every day were inconvenienced while enhanced security measures were implemented. These individuals went through enhanced security screenings and are being processed for entry to the United States, consistent with our immigration laws and judicial orders."
Now, after all the confusion, the DHS is already
clarifying, by scaling back on the severity of that first day of mayhem (as Adams pretty much predicted):
The US Department of Homeland Security has clarified that it is takings steps to comply with court orders issued yesterday and with the statements by Homeland Security Secretary James Kelly regarding the way refugees and travelers from the seven countries affected by the new travel restrictions, including green card holders, are treated.
In the statement, issued late January 29, the department said, "We are committed to ensuring that all individuals affected by the executive orders, including those affected by the court orders, are being provided all rights afforded under the law. We are also working closely with airline partners to prevent travelers who would not be granted entry under the executive orders from boarding international flights to the U.S. Therefore, we do not anticipate that further individuals traveling by air to the United States will be affected."
Citing earlier comments by Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, the department reiterated that "the entry of lawful permanent residents is in the national interest. Accordingly, absent significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations."
Green card holders are lawful permanent residents of the United States, though they are not citizens.
"We are and will remain in compliance with judicial orders. We are and will continue to enforce President Trump's executive order humanely and with professionalism. DHS will continue to protect the homeland." the department concluded.
And then Trump comes out and says
this:
"I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering," Trump said Sunday.
Head reeling yet? Read Adams' piece. Trump is carrying out a complex, and dangerous, 'negotiation' with two extreme and opposite parties. And he's not dumb.
Comment: President Donald Trump: Violence is an attack on humanity and it's got to be stopped. See also: