Donald Trump is a disgusting man. His latest deplorable action comes in the form of his executive order that effectively bans Muslim immigration to the United States. You can read it for yourself here, but I thought I would give a few of my annotated thoughts about it as well.
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and to protect the American people from terrorist attacks by foreign nationals admitted to the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. The visa-issuance process plays a crucial role in detecting individuals with terrorist ties and stopping them from entering the United States. Perhaps in no instance was that more apparent than the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when State Department policy prevented consular officers from properly scrutinizing the visa applications of several of the 19 foreign nationals who went on to murder nearly 3,000 Americans. And while the visa-issuance process was reviewed and amended after the September 11 attacks to better detect would-be terrorists from receiving visas, these measures did not stop attacks by foreign nationals who were admitted to the United States.
The world is a scary place. 9/11 was a failure on the part of our immigration system. And even though this process was reviewed and revised some foreign nationals have still managed to get in and harm a few Americans. So Donald Trump is ordering this to stop. Of course, this order wouldn’t have stopped any of those people either…
Numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, including foreign nationals who entered the United States after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas, or who entered through the United States refugee resettlement program. Deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States. The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those approved for admission do not intend to harm Americans and that they have no ties to terrorism.
Trump didn’t include Saudi Arabia, the country most 9/11 attackers came from. Nor has he, or anyone else on the right, come up with evidence that any has come close to using the current visa process in this manner. Trump doesn’t even suggest that it is real. He simply tells you that things are unstable and that might make something like this more likely. It is pure imagination.
In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law.
Nothing about this ban ensure’s that people admitted will agree with our founding principles. You cannot divine that from asking people questions in an interview or reviewing bureaucratic paperwork. Indeed, the President himself rarely displays an understanding and commitment to our founding principles. In fact, he is a violent ideologue who purposes and acts outside of the bounds of the Constitution. Send him back!
In addition, the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred (including “honor” killings, other forms of violence against women, or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own) or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.
This is a right-wing canard, meant to position banning Muslim immigration as a protection for women and LGTBQ people. Treat women with respect, except when they dress like whores, they object to you “grabbing their pussy,” want control of their bodies, or otherwise “ask for it.” Likewise, we wouldn’t want Muslims coming over here and refusing to bake a cake for a gay couple or tying a young gay man to a fence and beating him to death.
Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from foreign nationals who intend to commit terrorist attacks in the United States; and to prevent the admission of foreign nationals who intend to exploit United States immigration laws for malevolent purposes.
This is the stated reason for the policy. The problem: not one refugee or legal immigrant from these areas has committed an act of terrorism on US soil. Nor has Trump given credible evidence that terrorists are currently close to breaking our existing immigration system to do so. So if there is currently no problem and we have no credible evidence that the situation is changing, what is Team Deplorable aiming for?
Sec. 3. Suspension of Issuance of Visas and Other Immigration Benefits to Nationals of Countries of Particular Concern. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall immediately conduct a review to determine the information needed from any country to adjudicate any visa, admission, or other benefit under the INA (adjudications) in order to determine that the individual seeking the benefit is who the individual claims to be and is not a security or public-safety threat.
(b) The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to the President a report on the results of the review described in subsection (a) of this section, including the Secretary of Homeland Security’s determination of the information needed for adjudications and a list of countries that do not provide adequate information, within 30 days of the date of this order. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence.
Despite having years of data on immigrants coming into the country, Trump needs his people to take 30 days to look over information WE ALREADY HAVE. Yet, he is acting before seeing any report. Does that sound prudent? Again, it seems clear that this is not about a clear and present threat posed by refugees and immigrants.
(c) To temporarily reduce investigative burdens on relevant agencies during the review period described in subsection (a) of this section, to ensure the proper review and maximum utilization of available resources for the screening of foreign nationals, and to ensure that adequate standards are established to prevent infiltration by foreign terrorists or criminals, pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), 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 (excluding those foreign nationals traveling on diplomatic visas, North Atlantic Treaty Organization visas, C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations, and G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 visas).
In English, Trump is proclaiming that having immigrants from these countries enter the nation through our existing vetting process, which he plainly knows nothing about, might leave us vulnerable. Again, he has no reason to believe this, other than the fact that he has said it a thousand times. And he provides no reason to believe him here. And all this nonsense about paperwork is meant to exclude people– do you think governments are likely to give you detailed records on people fleeing them? Or that people living in a war-ravaged land will even have such paperwork? This is a phony study that he will point at to justify banning Muslims from entering America (a plainly unconstitutional act).
(d) Immediately upon receipt of the report described in subsection (b) of this section regarding the information needed for adjudications, the Secretary of State shall request all foreign governments that do not supply such information to start providing such information regarding their nationals within 60 days of notification.
(e) After the 60-day period described in subsection (d) of this section expires, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the President a list of countries recommended for inclusion on a Presidential proclamation that would prohibit the entry of foreign nationals (excluding those foreign nationals traveling on diplomatic visas, North Atlantic Treaty Organization visas, C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations, and G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 visas) from countries that do not provide the information requested pursuant to subsection (d) of this section until compliance occurs.
Now we are getting to the root of what Trump and Bannon are after. Once Trump gets his phony report, he will permanently ban people from countries that cannot provide “the information requested” by Trump, Bannon, and the rest of the white hood club.
(f) At any point after submitting the list described in subsection (e) of this section, the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security may submit to the President the names of any additional countries recommended for similar treatment.
Any and every country Team Trump wants to include on the list may be added in the future.
(g) Notwithstanding a suspension pursuant to subsection (c) of this section or pursuant to a Presidential proclamation described in subsection (e) of this section, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may, on a case-by-case basis, and when in the national interest, issue visas or other immigration benefits to nationals of countries for which visas and benefits are otherwise blocked.
If Trump or one of his cronies want to wave this for individual cases they can.
Sec. 4. Implementing Uniform Screening Standards for All Immigration Programs. (a) The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall implement a program, as part of the adjudication process for immigration benefits, to identify individuals seeking to enter the United States on a fraudulent basis with the intent to cause harm, or who are at risk of causing harm subsequent to their admission. This program will include the development of a uniform screening standard and procedure, such as in-person interviews; a database of identity documents proffered by applicants to ensure that duplicate documents are not used by multiple applicants; amended application forms that include questions aimed at identifying fraudulent answers and malicious intent; a mechanism to ensure that the applicant is who the applicant claims to be; a process to evaluate the applicant’s likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society and the applicant’s ability to make contributions to the national interest; and a mechanism to assess whether or not the applicant has the intent to commit criminal or terrorist acts after entering the United States.
This is the long list of reasons they will use to exclude people even if they are not on the banned country list. The “likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society” one is so subjective that a child should be able to tell that they plan on invoking this on poor and working class people– you know, the vast majority of immigrants (just like most of the British, German, Italian, Irish, Czech, Polish, Dutch, Scottish, and other assorted “white” immigrants of the deplorables own lineage).
(b) Upon the resumption of USRAP admissions, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is further directed to make changes, to the extent permitted by law, to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality. Where necessary and appropriate, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security shall recommend legislation to the President that would assist with such prioritization.
Gee, I wonder what Trump means by he will prioritize certain religious refugees as long as they are of the minority “religion” in their country of origin?
(c) Pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), 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.
Trump has done nothing to prove that Syrian refugees are a threat. Not one of them has done a thing since arriving. And the situation there is a real and clear humanitarian crisis. This is sick pandering to his racist, fear-mongering base.
(g) It is the policy of the executive branch that, to the extent permitted by law and as practicable, State and local jurisdictions be granted a role in the process of determining the placement or settlement in their jurisdictions of aliens eligible to be admitted to the United States as refugees. To that end, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall examine existing law to determine the extent to which, consistent with applicable law, State and local jurisdictions may have greater involvement in the process of determining the placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions, and shall devise a proposal to lawfully promote such involvement.
States and cities should be allowed to reject people admitted by the Federal government to legally live in the United States. This is unconstitutional. Our very internal borders and system of commerce and shared laws would break down under this way of life. This is insane and animated only by local prejudice.
Sec. 10. Transparency and Data Collection. (a) To be more transparent with the American people, and to more effectively implement policies and practices that serve the national interest, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall, consistent with applicable law and national security, collect and make publicly available within 180 days, and every 180 days thereafter:
(i) information regarding the number of foreign nationals in the United States who have been charged with terrorism-related offenses while in the United States; convicted of terrorism-related offenses while in the United States; or removed from the United States based on terrorism-related activity, affiliation, or material support to a terrorism-related organization, or any other national security reasons since the date of this order or the last reporting period, whichever is later;
(ii) information regarding the number of foreign nationals in the United States who have been radicalized after entry into the United States and engaged in terrorism-related acts, or who have provided material support to terrorism-related organizations in countries that pose a threat to the United States, since the date of this order or the last reporting period, whichever is later; and
(iii) information regarding the number and types of acts of gender-based violence against women, including honor killings, in the United States by foreign nationals, since the date of this order or the last reporting period, whichever is later; and
(iv) any other information relevant to public safety and security as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, including information on the immigration status of foreign nationals charged with major offenses.
This is Trump’s hate list. He plans on publishing lists of immigrants who have been convicted of crimes (in order to cement support for restricting and repressing foreign nationals) and his vague “other information relevant to public safety and security” is literally about telling people when the government SUSPECTS that a foreign national has committed a “major” offense (left intentionally undefined). This is going to get minority foreign nationals killed.
Donald Trump all but tells Muslims that they will have to wear a crescent symbol on their shirt sleeve. I don’t know how anyone can read this and not see what Trump is actually doing. If you support this you are every bit the hate-monger and racist that Trump is.
Rivers of Time 