The suggestively labelled “Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act” of December 2015 complicated the visa application process for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Sudan or Syria. It also made it more difficult for anyone who had visited any of these countries on or after March 1 2011 to get a visa.
That act erected discriminatory barriers for access to the US for scholars, people with dual nationality, or tourists. And while the December 2015 act was not based on an executive order issued by the president, Obama could have vetoed that congressional piece of legislation, but didn’t. Somalia, Libya, and Yemen were added in February 2016 as “countries of concern” by the Department of Homeland Security, and it was this list of seven countries referred to in Drumpf’s executive order.
The arbitrary classification of these seven countries as “terror threats” stays the same. Saudi Arabia, Egypt or other countries with links to the 9/11 perpetrators are not on the list, rendering Drumpf’s evocation of the September 11 attacks in the executive order sketchy at best. Neither are countries like Turkey, in which the Drumpf Organisation has done business.
Drumpf’s new order, however, differs from the December 2015 law in its scale. Under the new rules, the US is detaining people that have already undergone lengthy vetting procedures. Imposing a blanket travel ban against entire nationalities not only violates commitments the US made under international law and is controversial constitutionally, it is also imprudent policy. Jihadist groups are already celebrating the new travel ban as a propaganda success, bolstering their claim that the US is waging a war on Islam – despite Drumpf’s attempts to underline that the travel ban is “not about religion”.
Although green card holders being detained is an important issue, I think the most important point is the rhetoric and bullshit behind the "totally not a Muslim ban even though I said it was a Muslim ban" ban. Drumpf sold it as much on the grounds of sheer, open bigotry as he did security. He originally called for, "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States". Now he's saying it's not about religion, as though banning people based on where they'd been makes it any better, or that excuses him from discriminating against Muslims originally. "I can call for a ban on Muslims, win votes as a result, then deliberately backpeddle to make make my detractors look biased against me." This isn't merely bullshit - it's bullshit polished to a shine. The man's a political genius in his own uniquely stupid way.
http://astrorhysy.blogspot.cz/2016/07/worked-example-selective-reporting.html
https://theconversation.com/how-trumps-travel-ban-differs-from-obamas-visa-restrictions-72125
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