What is the ‘Muslim Ban’?

carylsue

7 years ago

UNITED STATES

With just a few quick strokes of the pen, President Donald Trump banned more than 134 million people from entering the United States. (CNN)

What countries are impacted by the ban?

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including a link to today’s MapMaker Interactive map.

Discussion Ideas

Are all Muslims banned from entering the United States?
- No. President Donald Trump issued an order suspending people from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States for 90 days.
- It started off that way. “When he first announced it, he said Muslim ban,” said former New York Mayor and Trump ally Rudy Giuliani.“He called me up, he said ‘Put a commission together, show me the right way to do it legally.’”

Is this an official Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ban?
- No. Trump used an executive order to create the policy.
- It may be in the future. White House sources say a stronger, broader ban is likely to come.

What are the nations impacted by the order? Take a look at today’s MapMaker Interactive map for some help.
- Libya
- Iraq
- Iran
- Sudan
- Syria
- Somalia
- Yemen

Does this mean diplomats from these countries will no longer be able to work in the U.S.? Are embassies being forced to close?
- No. The order exempts diplomats and members of international organizations.

Are naturalized citizens from the listed areas impacted?
- No. All U.S. citizens, either natural-born or naturalized, are not affected by the order.

What about people with dual citizenships?
- U.S. citizens who hold dual citizenships with any other country are not affected.
- Citizens who hold dual citizenship with a listed country and another are affected. For instance, Olympic medalist Mo Farah has expressed concern about returning from training in Ethiopia to his home in Oregon. Farah was born in Somalia, grew up in Britain, and holds dual citizenship.

How is the order being enforced?
- It isn’t, right now. A federal judge put a stay on the order, legally preventing travelers from being detained or deported.
- Some of the immigration lawyers and thousands of protesters who opposed the order at airports over the weekend report that some ICE officers are ignoring the stay and continuing to detain travelers.

How was the order being enforced before the stay?
- Visas were denied.
- Travelers were being detained and deported at airports. The New York Times describes “an Iranian scientist headed to a lab in Boston, an Iraqi who had worked as an interpreter for the United States Army, and a Syrian refugee family headed to a new life in Ohio” all denied entry to the U.S.
  - Citizens of the listed countries who are students enrolled at American universities were not be allowed to return to campus after traveling abroad.
  - Citizens of the listed countries who are legal residents of the U.S.—who hold “green cards”—were not being allowed to return to their homes after traveling abroad.
  - The arts are impacted. If the stay is lifted and the order again enforced, Oscar-nominated Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will be unable to attend the ceremony next month.
  - Sports are impacted. If the stay is lifted, international athletes may be unable to compete in the U.S.
- Although not part of the official order, the president pledged to prioritize Christians and other minorities from the listed countries over Muslims.
- A lawsuit, seeking class-action status for all refugees, has already been filed on behalf of two Iraqi refugees detained at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport. Both refugees worked for the U.S. government in Iraq.

What impact does the order have on refugees from war-torn Syria and elsewhere?
- The entire U.S. refugee program, with applicants from any country, has been suspended for 120 days. Syrian refugees, though, have been banned from entering the country indefinitely.
- The number of refugees the U.S. will accept has been slashed from no more than 110,000 per year to no more than 50,000 per year.

How many immigrants and refugees does the U.S. accept from the listed countries?
- Relatively few immigrants from the listed nations are permanent residents, with Iranians and Iraqis being the most abundant.
- People from the listed countries, however, account for 40% of refugees to the U.S.

What Muslim-majority nations are not impacted by the order?
- Afghanistan
- Algeria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Bosnia-Herzogovina
- Brunei
- Burkina Faso
- Chad
- Comoros
- Djbouti
- Egypt
- Gambia
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Indonesia
- Jordan
- Lebanon
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Maldives
- Malaysia
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Niger
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palestinian Territories
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Tajikistan
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Uzbekistan

So, many nations have a clear majority Muslim population. Why were the seven listed countries selected?
- The nations were not chosen at random. In 2016, they had been labeled “countries of concern.” In other words, the administration of President Obama restricted immigration—although never banned it—from the same places. In fact, five of the seven nations (Libya, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen) were bombed by the U.S. under Obama, and the remaining two (Iran, Sudan) endured severe sanctions.
- Broadly, the executive order is associated with the ongoing War on Terror. It is officially called “Protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States.”
  - The order acknowledges “deteriorating conditions in certain countries due to war, strife, disaster, and civil unrest increase the likelihood that terrorists will use any means possible to enter the United States.”
  - During his presidential campaign, Trump specifically called for a ban on Syrian immigrants, calling their entry a “Trojan Horse” for terrorists to enter the U.S.
  - One report noted “Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015.”
- In addition to a presumed terrorist threat, the order maintains that the U.S. should not “admit those who do not support the Constitution, or would place violent ideologies over American law … [or] engage in bigotry and acts of hatred (including ‘honor’ killings, other forms of violence against women, or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own), or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.”
  - Here’s a good report from Human Rights Watch, in which you can research nations that engage in violent ideologies, bigotry, and acts of hatred.

The order mentions the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, three times, specifically citing the fact that the 9/11 terrorists were “foreign nationals who entered the United States after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas, or who entered through the United States refugee settlement program.” Would this executive order have stopped the 9/11 terrorists from entering the country?
- No. None of the 9/11 terrorists were from the listed countries.
  - The 9/11 hijackers successfully applied for entry to the U.S. as citizens of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon.
  - Leaders of the larger terrorist movement associated with 9/11 (Osama bin Laden, Ramzi Yousef, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed) were citizens of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Pakistan.
- The other most deadly attacks in the United States would also not be impacted by the order:
  - The Oklahoma City bombing (1996) was carried out by U.S. citizens.
  - The Orlando nightclub shooting (2016) was carried out by a U.S. citizen.
  - The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (2012) was carried out by a U.S. citizen.
  - The San Bernardino shootings (2015) were carried out by a Saudi immigrant and a U.S. citizen.

The order is easily the most controversial policy of Trump’s young presidency. Who supports the order? Who opposes it?
- Pro: Most Republicans (the president’s party) support the order and the prioritizing of Christian immigrants.
  - “[T]here are millions of Americans who like what Trump is doing when he’s revamping immigration and the visiting to the US,” says one journalist.
  - Many Republican leaders who once objected to immigration bans and prioritizing one religion now support both policies.
    - Vice President Mike Pence had called a Muslim ban “offensive and unconstitutional” when it was proposed by Trump on the campaign trail.
    - Defense Secretary James Mattis previously said such a targeted ban “is causing us great damage right now, and it’s sending shock waves through this international system.”
    - House Speaker Paul Ryan had said “A religious test for entering our country is not reflective of America’s fundamental values. I reject it.”
  - British Prime Minister Theresa May supports the president, if not the order, saying “The United States is responsible for the United States’ policy on refugees.”
- Con: Many world leaders have been vocal in opposing the order.
  - “The reception of refugees fleeing the war, fleeing oppression, is part of our duties,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, at a joint news conference with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel.
  - “Regional issues cannot be solved by closing the doors on people,” said Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
  - Activists and philanthropists have opposed the order.
    - Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says she is “heartbroken that today President Trump is closing the door on children, mothers and fathers fleeing violence and war.”
    - Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says “we should do that by focusing on people who actually pose a threat … and should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help.”
- Many Congressional Democrats oppose the order.
  - New Jersey Senator Cory Booker joined the protest and was instrumental in organizing resistance and legal representation for those detained at Dulles International Airport.
  - Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy says “We bomb your country, creating a humanitarian nightmare, then lock you inside. That’s a horror movie, not a foreign policy.”