What is Trump’s travel ban?
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| Trump supporters rallying in favor of Trump's travel ban |
Trump travel ban or Trump Muslim ban is an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on the 27th of January, 2017 to put an end to the entry of citizens from seven Muslim countries to the USA for 90 days. The order also abolished rehabilitation of Syrian refugees on the American soil. The order was re-issued with a few amendments which included the removal of Iraq from the list and the admission to green card holders to enter America.
Criticizing the Trump’s travel ban
A major portion of the public, civil society members, lawyers and political leaders across the country heavily criticized Trump’s travel ban on the basis of the fact that it will create division and hatred in the American society. The public came out in large number to protest against the order, lawyers reached out to the citizens trapped at different airports in America, and political leaders showed solidarity with Muslims by speaking against the executive order. Though it is true that a significant portion of the American public is against the presidential order, there is another point view to it as well that cannot be ignored and that another point of view is that of Trump and his supporters regarding American safety and security.
Trump supporters’ stance on Trump’s travel ban
Pro-Trump quarters in America strongly argue in favor of Trump’s travel ban and the main reason they cite is safety and security for American citizens. They denounce the criticism that the order is anti-Muslim in nature by arguing that the ban applies to only six worst terrorism-affected Islamic countries and does not include the names of any American ally in the war on terror. They also quote 90 days as a temporary period to revisit the immigration checks in place for those who want to be part of the American society and say that the restrictions would be removed once the system is overhauled.
Donald Trump during election campaign criticized Obama administration for Syrian war and vowed to work with Bashar Al Assad and Vladimir Putin to find out some sort of a win-win solution to the conflict. He also had spoken in favor of carving out safe zones on the Syrian soil for refugees instead of making arrangements for them to be settled in America and Western countries. Donald Trump is of the view that members of the extremist organizations may infiltrate borders of America under the garb of refugees. Thus, one of the clauses of the Trump's travel ban terminated Syrian refugees program for an indefinite time and was a replication of his stance regarding Syrian refugees. Will his election rhetoric of Syrian safe zones come true or not is yet to be proved.
Current status of the Trump’s travel ban
The Supreme Court reinstated the Trump’s travel ban order with the provision that those entities or persons having credible relations with any entity or individual in America be allowed to enter the country irrespective of the country to they belong. Trump and his supporters would consider court’s decision as a major victory of their stance. The conservative circles may be celebrating the court’s decision, but it sparked a new wave of protests for minorities’ rights in some liberal circles.
What is ahead?
Every country has the right to protect its borders from any kind of illegal immigration and to provide security to its citizens, but it should not sow seeds of hatred among different sections of society. The security arrangements should not provide a sense that it is sidelining a particular race or religion. The inclusion of only Muslim countries in the Trump’s travel ban and the election campaign of Trump had a very adverse effect on his relations with Muslims. I think it time to fill the gap with confidence building measures by promoting brotherhood and religious harmony despite doctrinal differences. Extraordinary measures are a need of time, but these measures should not go beyond a limit.
About Muhammad Asim
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