The Travel Ban Isn’t ‘Racist’

The Quote Below: More Misinformation from the Media

“Last week, President Donald Trump announced the expansion of his controversial travel ban adding several more countries to the original list first signed in 2017.

“After the announcement, Democrats and immigration advocates have condemned the expanded policy, noting that the new order not only doubles down on targeting Muslims ― but it now explicitly targets Africans and Black African Muslims.

“Out of the seven newly added nations, four are African countries with sizable or majority-Muslim populations. Nigeria and Sudan each hold majority-Muslim populations, while Eritrea and Tanzania have sizable Muslim communities. Kyrgyzstan, a majority-Muslim country in Asia, is also on the list. . .

“Aya Saed, a Bertha Justice Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights who focuses on systematic unlawful policies, said that it was no coincidence that these particular African nations were targeted, especially in light of Trump’s comments about Africans.

“In 2018, President Donald Trump reportedly referred to several African nations as “shithole countries” during an immigration meeting at the White House.

“’This is just a doubling down on Trump’s racist and xenophobic immigration policies that continue to uphold white supremacy and keep out families and people who are seeking humanitarian protection,” said Mustafa Jumale, policy manager for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.’” – By Targeting Africans, Trump’s Muslim Ban Is Even More Racist, Rowalda Abdelaziz, Huffington Post, 2/10/20 [Link]

Fact Check on Quote Above: This article is typical of so much immigration advocacy, lean on rational argument and heavy on invective, particularly race-baiting. The evidence of “racism” is President Trump’s alleged reference to s-hole countries, a term the president denied using. If he indeed referred to some countries, such as Haiti, as backward and dysfunctional he was simply speaking the truth.

As for targeting Muslims, it’s hard to see how this would constitute racism. After all, Islam is a religion, not a race. And furthermore, it is a religion that often encourages it adherents to commit acts of violence against “infidels.” For this reason many Americans would support a ban on Muslim immigration. But that is not the objective of the Trump Administration’s ban—which permits travel from most Muslim countries. Chad F. Wolf, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, explains what that objective is:

“The top responsibility of the President and the Department of Homeland Security is the safety and security of the American people. . . . It is logical and essential to thoroughly screen and vet everyone seeking to travel or immigrate to the United States. However, there are some countries from whom the U.S. does not receive the necessary information about its travelers and, as a result, pose a national security or public safety risk that warrants tailored travel restrictions.”

A travel ban which safeguards Americans of all races and creeds is hardly an exercise in “white supremacy.” Providing them ‘humanitarian protection” doesn’t seem to be a high priority of immigration advocates.

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