After United Stated federal courts struck down Donald Trump’s flagrantly xenophobic travel ban, he threw a hissy fit on Twitter—“I’ll see you in court!” he threatened, bafflingly—and set about revising it. But so far, the new draft targets the same seven, primarily-Muslim countries.
According to the AP, those traveling to and from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, and Libya will be affected just as before. Green-card holders and those who are dual citizens of the U.S. and one of these seven countries will supposedly be exempt. Furthermore, authorities are no longer explicitly directed to identify Syrian refugees and reject their visa applications.
And yet, even without a direct order to bar Syrian refugees from entry, it’s unlikely that many will find asylum here. The new executive order has left unchanged the 50,000-per-year refugee cap — and the U.S. has already taken in 35,000. This restriction is especially severe when compared to the Obama administration’s refugee cap of 110,000-per-year.
As for the previous ban — did Trump really seem that attached to it? Because, you see, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly tells the AP that they were only practicing. It was merely a “temporary pause” that enabled our level-headed leader to “see where our immigration and vetting system has gaps—and gaps it has—that could be exploited.”
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So, though Trump and his advisees were “surprised” at the federal courts’ blocking of the first, just-for-funsies ban, now “the president is contemplating releasing a tighter, more streamlined version.” This time, Kelly affirms, the administration will “make sure that there’s no one caught in the system of moving from overseas to our airports.”
Trump’s first ban engendered chaos and terror across the United States’s international airports, with families separated and travelers held against their will — some without food. Over 100,000 visas were revoked. Protests raged throughout the country.
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Trump has said that he may sign his “revised” Muslim ban sometime this week. Until then, it’s subject to change, but given what we already know, we should anticipate the worst. We have no reason to expect anything else.
