Sunday, January 29, 2017

Trump's Travel Ban: Its Implications and the Global Reaction

This Friday, President Trump signed an executive order banning passport holders from seven “countries of concern” in the Middle East. Since then, a plethora of information has been circulated regarding the exact implications of the order, and the reactions from various authorities internationally. With this blog post, I hope to present all that you need to know in an unbiased fashion.

THE DIRECT IMPLICATIONS:

1.    President Trump’s executive order bans passport holders from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the United States for at least the next 90 days.
2.    The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is suspended for 120 in order to give the Department of Homeland Security time to refine and improve the vetting process. Those refugees already in the process of being cleared, must wait and be cleared by the new process implemented after the 120-day period.
3.    Acceptance of refugees from Syria is suspended until the president, whether it is Trump or a future president, deems “that sufficient changes have been made to the USRAP to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest”.
4.    In fiscal year 2017, only 50,000 refugees will be permitted entry into the US, “until such time as [the president determines] that additional admissions would be in the national interest”. This is less than half of the current level of 110,000. Furthermore, 36,722 refugees from the countries outlined in number 1 were accepted into the United States in fiscal year 2016, 43% of the total refugees admitted to the US that year (see chart).
5.    After the 90-day ban (see number 1) has expired, the Department of Homeland Security may admit refugees on a case-by-case basis if they determine “the admission of such individuals as refugees is in the national interest”. The document cites religious persecution, preexisting international agreements, and causing a person already in transit an undue hardship as reasons for admitting refugees.
6.    After 100 days and 200 days, the Department of Homeland Security is required to submit two reports on the progress of the directive, and is also required to determine in what ways state and local governments can intervene to take action regarding refugees in their jurisdiction.
7.    According to a senior Department of Homeland Security official, as of 6:00 AM on January 29th, 109 people had been denied entry to the US nationwide. Another 173 had been disallowed from boarding planes to the US at foreign airports, and 81 waivers have been granted to green-card holders as a result of case-by-case review.



 THE REACTIONS:

Trump’s divisive executive order caused much discourse domestically and internationally.
1.    Ann Donnelly, a federal judge, blocked the deportation of anyone currently in the US as a result of the executive order.
2.    Speaker of the House Paul Ryan defended the order, “This is not a religious test, and it is not a ban on people of any religion … This order does not affect the vast majority of Muslims in the world.”
3.    Protesters showed up to international airports around the country to support those detained in Customs. Also, lawyers volunteered their services to those detained, citing Judge Donnelly’s order as reason for them to see the detainees.
4.    UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn called for the cancellation of Donald Trump’s visit to the UK until the executive order is lifted. UK Prime Minister Theresa May has not yet made a personal comment regarding Trump’s travel ban.
5.    Despite reports stating otherwise, Iran is not banning US citizens from entering the country. On Saturday, January 28th, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted, “Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed.” The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also put out a statement condemning the order. Here is a link to that statement.
These are just a sample of some of the reaction to the executive order, I encourage you to check Twitter to see where your local and state legislators stand on the issue, as well as the attitude of people around the globe. Hopefully, with all the information gathered, you will be able to determine your stance on the issue and act accordingly.

 - Isaac Kaufman (ID: ikaufman6)
Sources:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/donald-trump-muslim-ban-jeremy-corbyn-uk-mp-immigration-policy-theresa-may-response-a7551636.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/text-of-trump-executive-order-nation-ban-refugees/
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/trump-immigration-refugees-visa-policy/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/01/29/president-trumps-travel-ban-is-causing-chaos-dont-expect-him-to-back-down/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/refugees-detained-at-us-airports-challenge-trumps-executive-order/2017/01/28/e69501a2-e562-11e6-a547-5fb9411d332c_story.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/middleeast/iran-will-ban-us-citizens/

Posted by at

9 comments:

  1. Student2020January 30, 2017 at 6:51 AM

    In addition to being ethically controversial, some believe Trump's strategy is not likely to make America any safer either.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownFebruary 1, 2017 at 9:06 AM

    Although I agree with the overall ban, banning Iran was a mistake. With the prevalence of Iranian populations in the US and especially at colleges nationwide (Ga Tech in particular), essentially "everyone knows an Iranian". Also, Somalia/Iran are the only two countries on the list we're not actively bombing, so I don't really understand the reason behind them except to appease the right.

    -- Jeremiah Dir

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownFebruary 1, 2017 at 11:25 AM

    Thank you for explaining the ban for us. This has been a very emotional time for me and I have had a difficult time reading most articles or watching the news. This is completely unconstitutional and inhumane. I am disgusted to see people are still support of trump and I hope that there will eventually be an end to all of this. BAN TRUMP. He is putting the country in a very difficult place and at this point we are moving backwards from all the work done in the past. No one should be banned from anywhere for any reason. We are all equal regardless of where we are from and what we believe. There is possible chance of terror from anyone, it does not matter their background. I hope 'Americans' begin to realize this or read a book!

    -Samiyah Malik

    ReplyDelete
  4. Davis RiddettFebruary 3, 2017 at 7:44 AM

    After reading what this travel ban entails, I have no clear idea what the executive order's end goal is. I believe that many of us (myself included) are terribly upset at Trump's ban because there is no apparent reason why he enacted it in the first place! Stopping human beings from fleeing a "country of concern" is cruel. Our nation's leaders appear to be reveling in a shallow form of flexing their political muscles over those who cannot defend themselves. Representative Ted Lieu's powerful words, "Lady Liberty is crying," do not understate the gravity of this horrible situation.

    -Davis Riddett

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownFebruary 3, 2017 at 1:33 PM

    My biggest fear is that this executive order was entirely political and tactful in nature and had no genuine intention to create any greater safety in the US. From my own personal line of reasoning, I believe the Trump administration was afraid that, after his election, the US was at an increased risk of a terrorist attack because of the anger his divisive and hateful comments have already caused. Because an attack shortly after his election would cast tremendous doubt and fear on his presidency, I believe the president and his administration acted quickly and irrationally to prevent any risk of an attack undermining his early successes. It's the only thing I can reason for any of us to make sense. The sad reality is, this protectionist mentality likely has only made the world more dangerous, and Trump has caused pain, fear, and hopelessness in the lives of many for the sake of perceived political protection. Thanks for the well informed post, Isaac.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownFebruary 11, 2017 at 10:40 AM

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. UnknownFebruary 11, 2017 at 10:42 AM

      I too Isaac agree with you as to why Trump issued this executive order. I think we need to realize that all these countries also hold "travel bans" on Israeli citizens and in addition few if any take syrian refugees. Taking syrian refugees is also cheaper for them than for the US. It would be hypocritical to criticize the US and I believe US should put itself first before helping others. Nevertheless the fact that "Trump" issued these definitely does not help due to his infamous reputation.
      -Roy

      Delete
  6. UnknownFebruary 16, 2017 at 8:56 PM

    The new administration's decisions regarding the process of vetting and national protection from outside threats have been rather extreme and uninformed. These decisions have been looked at from only one side: their side. Trump's administration and its supporters, both within the Congress and within the public, have not considered what the repercussions of these actions would be in regards to our relations with some of our strongest, closest allies (i.e. Britain, Australia), within the Middle East (where our correspondence is often times shoddy at best), and among the American people (many of whom have spent their lives contributing to the betterment of this country). When active citizens of a society, such as students and professors, begin to have their livelihoods endangered, it becomes quite clear that something is very awry.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownFebruary 18, 2017 at 11:22 AM

    The fact that trump pushed the ban seemingly out of nowhere, with no vetting from departments like homeland security gives makes me think that this ban won't continue for long

    -Steven Rayburn

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)