Trump travel ban flies in the face of American values

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order barring most citizens from seven mainly Muslim Mideast and East African nations from entering the US.
The nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia won’t be able to enter the US for at least 90 days. The order will deny visas to Syrian nationals and halts the processing of Syrian refugees. And it will remain in effect until Trump determines that enough security changes have been made to ensure that would-be terrorists can’t exploit weaknesses in the current vetting system.
Trump ordered a four-month suspension of America’s broader refugee program. The suspension is intended to provide time to review how refugees are vetted before they are allowed to resettle in the United States. It also cuts the number of refugees the US plans to accept this budget year by more than half, to 50,000 people from around the world. During the last budget year the US accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 people from Syria. President Barack Obama had set the current refugee limit at 110,000. The halt to refugee admissions does not apply to Christians from Muslim-majority countries as they are thought to be most
persecuted.
The order seems to be issued in haste to appease populists. It is a cavalier approach to the important issues. Even long-time holders of multiyear visas for the US, together with green card holders and dual nationals, are being refused entry at airports. This includes people who have been living in the US legally for many years, and have already been vetted. Judging by Google, the order covers tax-paying US-based workers who productively contribute to national growth . Though the order delivers on a campaign pledge to strengthen America’s borders, it was denounced by human-rights groups as an attack on some of the world’s most vulnerable people, and will alarm many in the Islamic world.
Trump said the immigration measures were taken to strengthen national security. But the order will further embolden extremists who already view the US as at war with Islam. Also, the recent acts of deadly extremist violence have been carried out either by US citizens or by lone wolf inspired by what they see on the internet. They weren’t from the nations singled out in admissions ban. The order does not address homegrown violent extremists.
Citizens of Middle Eastern and African nations applying for a US visa already face some of the most stringent documentation requirements. But the blanket ban offers a different interpretation. The refugee ban could deter Muslim-majority countries from cooperating with the US on policy matters and could embolden an extremist already bent on violence. The law enforcement officials must take this into account for their violence prevention efforts.
No wonder so many people from across the political spectrum are questioning the executive order. Criticism of Trump’s executive order emerged from both the left and the right. Hillary Clinton said she stand with those who gathered across the country defending US values and Constitution.
It is deplorable because of its discriminatory nature. It risks undermining the US moral high ground, and its standing and the respect it commands. It will undermine the credibility of Trump’s administration, creating potential headwinds to the effectiveness of its future measures in a wide range of areas.
It is the right of every country to take measures to reduce terrorist risks. But the travel ban is not a good way to do so.