© Screenshot of visa waiver categories, US Customs and Border ProtectionThe Congress and Homeland Security selected these countries in 2016 and before
I was outraged by the ban on refugees from war-torn countries in the Middle East. I've covered refugees fleeing war in Iraq and Syria over the last two years,
meeting families on the road in Greece, Serbia and Macedonia, speaking to poor people in
Turkey and
Jordan and discussing the hopes and fears of people
displaced in Iraq. If you want to ban "terrorists," these are the last people to hit with a refugee ban. Instead the government should be using the best intelligence possible to find people being radicalized, some of whom have lived in the US their whole lives or who come from countries not affected by the ban, such as
Saudi Arabia or
Pakistan.So I was outraged, and then I read the executive order. There are many full texts of the order online, such as
at CNN, the
NYT, the
WSJ or
Independent. According to most reports Trump was banning "nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for at least the next 90 days." This bars people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. US
Senator Elizabeth Warren said "Let's be clear: A Muslim ban by any other name is still a Muslim ban," and Senator Chris Murphy claimed "Trump has now handed ISIS a path to rebirth." Media, such as Vox and the
Independent, compared the ban to
banning Jews from entry during the Holocaust and bashed Trump for signing the order on Holocaust memorial day. World
leaders are "condemning Trump's Muslim ban," according to headlines.
I had to see for myself, so I read the executive order. The order does seek "to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States." It says that it seeks "Suspension of Issuance of Visas and Other Immigration Benefits to Nationals of Countries of Particular Concern." It also says "I hereby proclaim that the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens
from countries referred to in section 217(a)(12) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12), would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of such persons for 90 days from the date of this order." And it targets Syrians specifically. "I hereby proclaim that the entry of
nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I have determined that sufficient changes have been made to the USRAP to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest."
Comment: For more on the inglorious exploits of the British Empire, read Joe Quinn's essay The British Empire - A Lesson In State Terrorism