Yesterday Hair Drumpf signed yet another ill-written half-thought out Executive Order suspending the issuance of travel visas from several majority Muslim countries.
Trump traveled to the Pentagon where he joined Defense Secretary James Mattis for the signing of an executive action to bring sweeping changes to the nation's refugee policies and put in motion his plans to build up the nation's military.
"I'm establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We don't want 'em here," Trump declared. "We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people."
During his election campaign against Hillary Clinton, Trump pledged to put in place "extreme vetting" procedures to screen people coming to the U.S. from countries with terrorism ties. The White House did not immediately release details on the order that Trump signed, but a draft of the order called for suspending the issuing of visas to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 30 120 days.
A ban for 120 days? Really, huh. What’s Drumpf expect to learn in 120 days that he doesn’t know now, I mean besides everything?
The thing about Visas is that they are usually issued from a U.S. Embassy or consulate in that particular country. Well, as it turns out the U.S. embassy in Yemen has been shutdown for over a year, so what difference does this order really make?
Due to the deteriorating security situation in Sana’a, the Department of State suspended embassy operations at U.S. Embassy Sana’a on February 11, 2015.
All consular services, routine and emergency, continue to be suspended until further notice. The level of instability and ongoing threats in Yemen remain extremely concerning. There are no plans for a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of U.S. citizens at this time. If you wish to depart Yemen, you should stay alert for other opportunities to leave the country. U.S. citizens who are able to depart Yemen for another country and are in need of emergency assistance upon arrival may contact a U.S. embassy or consulate in that country.
And that isn’t an isolated case.
Things aren’t that rosey in Syria.
The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against all travel to Syria and strongly recommends that U.S. citizens remaining in Syria depart immediately. The security situation remains dangerous and unpredictable. Violent conflict between government and armed anti-government groups continues throughout the country. There is a serious risk for kidnappings, bombings, murder, and terrorism. This replaces the Travel Warning dated March 31, 2016.
No part of Syria is safe from violence. Kidnappings, the use of chemical warfare, shelling, and aerial bombardment have significantly raised the risk of death or serious injury. The destruction of infrastructure, housing, medical facilities, schools, and power and water utilities has also increased hardships inside the country.
The situation is similar in Somalia.
The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Somalia because of continuous activity by the al-Qaida affiliated terrorist group, al-Shabaab. U.S. citizens should be aware of the threat of kidnapping in all parts of Somalia, including Somaliland and Puntland. There is no U.S. embassy presence in Somalia. This replaces the Travel Warning dated May 24, 2016.
And the Sudan.
The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the continued risks of travel to Sudan. U.S. citizens should avoid all travel to the Darfur region, Blue Nile, and Southern Kordofan states, and consider carefully the risks of travel in other areas of Sudan, due to the continued threat of terrorism, armed conflict, violent crime and kidnapping. The U.S. Embassy's ability to provide services outside of Khartoum is very limited. This replaces the Travel Warning issued on June 15, 2015.
And Libya.
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Libya and recommends that U.S. citizens currently in Libya depart immediately. The security situation in Libya remains unpredictable and unstable, and extremist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests. If in Libya, make contingency emergency plans and maintain security awareness at all times. This supersedes the Travel Warning issued on September 16, 2015.
On July 26, 2014 the U.S. Embassy suspended operations in Libya. The Department of State has extremely limited capacity to assist U.S. citizens in Libya.
if you aren’t starting to see a pattern, there’s also Iran.
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Iran. This replaces the Travel Warning for Iran dated March 14, 2016, to reiterate and highlight the risk of arrest and detention of U.S. citizens, particularly dual national Iranian-Americans. Foreigners, in particular dual nationals of Iran and Western countries including the United States, continue to be detained or prevented from leaving Iran. U.S. citizens traveling to Iran should very carefully weigh the risks of travel and consider postponing their travel. U.S. citizens residing in Iran should closely follow media reports, monitor local conditions, and evaluate the risks of remaining in the country.
…
The U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and therefore cannot provide protection or routine consular services to U.S. citizens in Iran. The Swiss government, acting through its Embassy in Tehran, serves as protecting power for U.S. interests in Iran.The range of consular services provided by the Foreign Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy is limited and may require significantly more processing time than at U.S. embassies or consulates.
Yeah, we used to have an embassy in Iran, that didn’t go well. However, there is an Embassy in Iraq.
The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Iraq. Travel within Iraq remains very dangerous, and the ability of the Embassy to assist U.S. citizens facing difficulty is extremely limited. This supersedes the Travel Warning dated December 4, 2015.
U.S. citizens in Iraq are at high risk for kidnapping and terrorist violence. Anti-U.S. sectarian militias may threaten U.S. citizens and western companies throughout Iraq. Kidnappings and attacks by improvised explosive devices (IED) occur frequently in many areas of the country, including Baghdad. Methods of attack have included explosively formed penetrators (EFPs), magnetic IEDs placed on vehicles, human and vehicle-borne IEDs, mines placed on or concealed near roads, mortars and rockets, and shootings using various direct fire weapons. Such attacks often take place in public venues such as cafes and markets. Facilities of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the U.S. Government, and western interests remain possible targets, as evidenced by the April 17, 2015, bombing near the entrance to U.S. Consulate General Erbil.
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The Government of Iraq strictly enforces regulations regarding visas and entry, authorizations for weapons, and movements through checkpoints. U.S. citizens traveling to Iraq without the proper authorization or whose purpose for travel is not readily apparent have been detained without warning. For more information on entry/exit requirements, please see our Country Specific Information page for Iraq.
Most of the countries are war zones where we have no embassy or consulate and normal travel visas can not be issued. The real change is that if they have left their native countries and are attempting to enter from a third country they are now blocked which makes no sense if you’re argument is that your trying to keep potential combatants out because that’s what we were already doing. The only way for non-combatants, be they Shia Muslims escaping ISIL (who are Sunni), Athiests and Christians — although there is supposedly a priority granted to Christians as if they’ve never been involved in terrorism — or others trying to escape the war is to apply for refugee status. Trump has with his deluded Trojan Horse fantasy fueling this E.O. has placed a three month hold on refugees, which is permanent for Syrians, while the existing vetting process already requires approval by the UN, FBI, Homeland Security, State Dept. and takes between 18 and 24 months.
The process begins with a referral from UNHCR. The U.N.'s refugee agency is responsible for registering some 15 million asylum seekers around the world, and providing aid and assistance until they are resettled abroad or (more likely) returned home once conditions ease. The registration process includes in-depth refugee interviews, home country reference checks and biological screening such as iris scans. Military combatants are weeded out.
Among those who pass background checks, a small percentage are referred for overseas resettlement based on criteria designed to determine the most vulnerable cases. This group may include survivors of torture, victims of sexual violence, targets of political persecution, the medically needy, families with multiple children and a female head of household.
What happens once a refugee is referred to the U.S.?
Our government performs its own intensive screening, a process that includes consultation from nine different government agencies. They meet weekly to review a refugee's case file and, if appropriate, determine where in the U.S. the individual should be placed. When choosing where to place a refugee, officials consider factors such as existing family in the U.S., employment possibilities and special factors like access to needed medical treatment.
He added to the questionnaire: “Do you like America?” Yeah, ok, sure It makes perfect sense that the FBI, Homeland, UN and 7 others U.S. agencies just never even thought of asking that dumb ass question. Thank god we have the Super-genius of Drumpf to save us.
The fact is that the recent violent attacks in Paris, Nice, Belgium and Berlin were done by people who were from France, Belgium and Tunisia — but not Syria. None of them were Syrian Trojan Horse refugees, they were largely home grown. Even the wife and accomplice of the U.S. born San Bernadino shooter, Tashfeen Malik, was from Pakisatan and entered the U.S. via Saudi Arabia, the attempted Time Square bomber Faizhal Shahzad was a naturalized American citizen born in Pakistan, the attempted Underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmuallab was from Lagos and didn’t come into America across the southern border, he took a plane into Detroit, the Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan was born in Virginia and the Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen was born in Hyde Park, NY. But do we have a visa ban from Saudi Arabia? No. From Lagos? No. From Pakistan? No. From Virginia? No. From Hyde Park? No.
Oh, and by the way the U.S. has a Visa Waiver program in place which allows foreign nationals with only a passport to travel to the U.S. without a visa. Those countries include Belgium, France, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan and the UK, so nearly all the terrorists who have recently attacked Europe could still potentially come into the U.S. even with the ban in place.
What exactly is this intended to accomplish?
There’s nothing in this order that would prevent any of those attacks or block the ability of those who have similar sympathies in Europe, or already in the U.S., from carrying out further attacks. It’s completely ridiculous, all it does is let Trump beat his breast and claims he’s the macho man who finally did something, as if nothing was already going on. At the same time it would block Iranian dissidents who oppose that regime from escaping to the U.S., it would block those who oppose ISIL and oppose al Qeada from an escape route, it would block Iraqis who had worked for and helped the U.S. Government and grant much more rhetorical cache to those who want to use the argument that America is “anti-Muslim” to recruit and strengthen their ranks. He’s punishing the innocent here and letting the potential guilty parties continue on as they had before. It’s heartless. And dumb.
Besides adding a pointless and religiously bigoted waiting period for refugees, this order will largely also block visas from Iraqis from travelling to the U.S. immediately after Trump has, yet again, said he’d like to “take the oil” from Iraq.
That's not, really not, a good thing. It’s putting our own troops, 5000 of whom are still in Iraq fighting ISIL, while we’re within a few weeks of fully cleaning enemy forces out of their last stronghold in the country, Mosul. How exactly are Iraqis supposed to feel about U.S. troops if they decide to not so casually hang around instead of gradually leaving after finally pushing back ISIL while Trump yaps about taking their oil and blocks their ability to get a Visa for no real serious reason?
This order shows a deep, deluded lack of understanding of what and where al Qaeda, ISIL and al Shabob actually are and how they operate. It’s a pointless “feel good” exercise that doesn’t protect anyone and puts those who are already at risk in an even more precarious situation.
Thanks Drumpf.
Saturday, Jan 28, 2017 · 6:07:33 PM +00:00 · Frank Vyan Walton
And to make matters far worse the ban isn’t just for those seeking visas, it includes those already holding green cards.
People granted legal permanent resident status through green cards are included in the executive action President Donald Trump signed barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries from the United States, Reuters reported Saturday.
"It will bar green card holders," Gillian Christensen, acting Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, told Reuters in an email.
And refugees who’ve already been vetted and approved are being detained at the airport. Apparently those with duel citizenship with one of the seven banned counties are also being blocked, which means AMERICAN CITIZENS are being kept out of America, which is insane.
Refugees who were en route to the United States on Friday when President Donald Trump signed an executive order were detained at airports as soon as they arrived, the New York Times reported.
Travelers with valid visas who had been vetted by State Department and Department of Homeland Security officials and been granted admission to the U.S. were left in legal limbo by the immediate imposition of Friday’s order.
The American Civil Liberties Union, International Refugee Assistance Project, National Immigration Law Center, and several other organizations filed dual complaints over the detention of two Iraqi refugees held at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, according to the Times. The group filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Eastern District of New York to try to have the two clients released, and also filed a motion for class certification to be allowed to represent all refugees and immigrants being detained at U.S. transit hubs.
One of the Iraqis detained at JFK had worked for the U.S. Government in Iraq as a translator for a decade and the other was returning to join his wife who works for a U.S. Contractor.
Saturday, Jan 28, 2017 · 6:54:13 PM +00:00
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Frank Vyan Walton
The executive branch has broad powers to decide immigration rules and can do so on a nation by nation basis, but because this policy is being implemented in a way that now impacts how people are being treated on U.S. Soil it could very well constitute a violation of the Civil Rights Act prohibition against discrimination based on National Origin.
Federal laws prohibit discrimination based on a person's national origin, race, color, religion, disability, sex, and familial status. Laws prohibiting national origin discrimination make it illegal to discriminate because of a person's birthplace, ancestry, culture or language. This means people cannot be denied equal opportunity because they or their family are from another country, because they have a name or accent associated with a national origin group, because they participate in certain customs associated with a national origin group, or because they are married to or associate with people of a certain national origin.
The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division is concerned that national origin discrimination may go unreported in the United States because victims of discrimination do not know their legal rights, or may be afraid to complain to the government. To address this problem, the Civil Rights Division has established a National Origin Working Group to help citizens and immigrants better understand and exercise their legal rights. If you think you, or someone you know, has been discriminated against because of national origin and want to learn more about exercising your legal rights, you should read this brochure.
The way DHS is behaving now goes against what the EEOC allows employers to do. And in regards to these detentions, they could be easily considered harassment.
It is unlawful to harass a person because of his or her national origin. Harassment can include, for example, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person's national origin, accent or ethnicity.
Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.