By Armin Rosencranz and Arjya Majumdar
Historically, the United States of America has been responsible for the most number of refugee resettlements since World War II. An executive order signed into effect by newly elected President Donald J. Trump on 27th January 2017 seeks to reverse that history.
What the executive decision entails
The executive order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States lays a 120-day freeze on immigration for refugees from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and an indefinite ban on immigration for refugees from Syria.
This immigration ban from predominantly Muslim countries is being interpreted as Trumps repugnance towards Muslim immigrants in general. As a result, nearly 60000 visitors and immigrants with valid visas present in the United States now find themselves in an uncertain situation.
The chaos arising from the order
This regressive step is sure to have foreign policy ramifications for the United States and indeed, across the world. Legal scholar Laurence Tribe called the ban a barely disguised religious discrimination against Muslims. Others see it as a violation of freedom of religion or the free exercise thereof, contrary to the First Amendment of the US Constitution. Implicit in due process is the equal protection of the laws.
Despite the rise of nationalistic sentiments across the world today, none of those perspectives takes away from the crisis that this ban on immigration creates and the horrors in US foreign policy that may yet come. America was, as they say, built on the backs of immigrants.
Until January 2017, the US was the beacon of liberty and freedom for people across the world. That position is now under severe threat.
Donald Trumps firing of the acting attorney general, sends a clear message to his future Cabinet about his tolerance for public dissent. | Photo Courtesy: AJCAs a world leader in foreign policy, we may expect to see other countries follow suit. However, the attitudes towards refugees of some nations such as Canada and Germany still encourage optimism. Considerably more optimistic is the widespread dissenting reaction from within. Former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates refused to defend the legality of this executive order in court, citing that she wasnt convinced that the order was consistent with the ideals of justice.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Former acting US Attorney General Sally Yates refused to defend the legality of this executive order in court.[/su_pullquote]
Technology companies heavily dependent on the inflow of skilled workers have also expressed their dismay and outrage against this immigration ban. A Federal Judge in Seattle has already passed a nationwide order temporarily restraining the enforcement of the immigration ban, saying that it was unconstitutional and was causing immediate and irreparable injury.
Will America be great again?
However, the Trump administration refuses to go back on the ban doing so would make the President appear weak. Yates was relieved of her position on the grounds that she had betrayed the administration. The US Department of Justice intends to file an emergency stay on the order from Seattle. It will not be long before the US Supreme Court will be seized of the matter in what may be heading towards a constitutional crisis.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]It will not be long before the US Supreme Court will be seized of the matter in what may be heading towards a constitutional crisis.[/su_pullquote]
Such moves and countermoves by the presidents office, the judiciary, bureaucrats and the American public all indicate considerable civil unrest, even within the government. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the presidents office in the future and the implied threat of autocratic steps and a dilution of liberal democracy.
Perhaps what is most frightening is that Trump has used his presidential executive powers to discriminate against Muslims, both legitimately living in the United States as well as Muslims around the world. This flies in the face of the very ideals that the United States was founded upon, that all men are created equal and have inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Of course, the US Declaration of Independence also justifies the overthrow of a government that fails to uphold these rights.
Immigrants made America great. Perhaps it is indeed time to make Americans great again.