Ban in the land of the free

Trump’s order halts U.S. entry for seven countries, refugees

 

Making good on one of his most scoffed at campaign promises, President Donald Trump imposed a ban on individuals entering the United States from Muslim countries in yet another executive order
Saturday, Jan. 28.

The United States of America, the land of the free and home of the brave — the land of opportunity — has placed a temporary ban on a group of people because of their religious beliefs, going against the principle of religious freedom on which this country was founded.

Back in December 2015, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted, “Calls to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. are offensive and unconstitutional.”
In July 2016, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan echoed those sentiments when he tweeted, “A religious test for entering our country is not reflective of America’s fundamental values. I reject it.”

They both quickly flopped on their positions and offered their support as Trump made the decision to ban individuals from seven Muslim countries — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen — none of which have been responsible for terror attacks on the U.S. and none of which have ties to his personal business ventures, according to NPR.

Syrian refugees have been banned indefinitely, while the other nations will face a 90-day ban.

While those seven countries were a part of the list established by the Obama administration, a complete ban was never in effect as travelers were still able to be interviewed and apply for visas, according to CNN.

Attempts to distance the motives from religion fall flat as Rudy Giuliani noted during an appearance on Fox News that the president asked him how to legally impose a Muslim ban.

But that’s not all.

Refugees have also been barred from entering the U.S. for 120 days.

There are more refugees — more than 65 million — than any other time in history, according to the UN Refugee Agency, and the situation is only becoming more dire.

World Relief defines a refugee as someone forced to flee their country due to “fear of persecution based on religion, race, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.”

There is the ignorant notion that refugees are flooding into the country, and that is simply not true.

According to World Relief, one of the world’s leaders in refugee resettlement, people fleeing their countries must go through a nearly 2-year-long vetting process that includes various interviews, a health screening, and approval from the Department of Homeland Security.

We can’t let ourselves forget that refugees are human beings and they are fleeing their homes because their
lives are in danger.

It is irresponsible for one of the greatest nations in history to not be doing more to help people who are suffering.

Refugees are the victims of radicalism — they should not be treated like criminals or ignored, regardless of their religious beliefs.

Fear and misinformation have taken over policy making and nothing good can come from that.

There’s an increasing tone of hostility toward people of different backgrounds founded in nationalism, and it’s disappointing.

I hope we don’t have to look back at history books, wishing we did more to offer the American dream to those who desperately need it.

Carter is the opinion editor.