By Jon Harris:
Recently, President Trump put a halt on the immigration from seven selected countries and the news media and protestors went nuts. For several days, we have heard how President Trump banned the immigration from these predominantly Muslim countries because they are Muslim. What the news media did not say was that these countries are predominantly sponsors of terrorism all over the world. The media conveniently put their common sense aside to make a political statement.
The following countries are predominantly Muslim:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Guinea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Gambia, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Western Sahara, and Yemen. (1)
Of these countries, only seven are covered by the ban. Clearly, it is not directed at Muslim countries; the ban is about restricting states that sponsor terrorism. The seven countries mentioned in the ban came from the list of “countries of concern” named in a piece of bipartisan approved legislation that was signed into law by President Obama and further implemented by his administration, specifically the Department of Homeland Security. The media seems to have forgotten that bit of fact as well.
Several court cases, including some backed by the ACLU, have appeared in the news in opposition to President Trump’s executive order on immigration. The Deputy Attorney General, Sally Yates, committed career suicide when she made a stand to defy the President’s order, one that had already been cleared by the Justice Department and declared legal. No one has to follow an illegal order, whether they are government employees, the military, police, or anyone, but this was not the case here. Deputy Attorney General Yates simply refused to follow her directive, and went as far as to direct her department also to disobey the order. Her continued employment as Deputy Attorney General was decided in moments.
From what we saw on the daily news, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were detaining thousands of people. The fact is that only 109 people coming into the country were held under the new ban. A senior Homeland Security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide an operational update on Trump’s executive order, said the Department quickly overhauled its screening procedures after Trump signed the order on Friday. The Department issued new guidance to its Customs and Border Protection officers in the field and adjusted its computerized targeting system to identify people who are currently barred entry through the executive order.
The official said the order allowed legal permanent residents, known as green-card holders, and foreigners who were granted special visas for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters to enter after undergoing a full background check and in-person interview. 81 people made it through that process and were allowed to enter the country. According to the official, Homeland Security’s legal team was reviewing the New York federal judge’s Saturday ruling and that the Department would adjust its practices in compliance with the order.(2)
Clearly, this is not the massive deportation the news media is making it out to be. What is happening is that America is protecting itself. Vetting individuals that come from terror-sponsoring countries is a necessity.
Several news outlets have been reporting on the fact that no fatal terrorist attack in the US has originated from an immigrant from these seven countries. That is true. What they are looking at is completed terrorist attacks. The number of attacks the FBI and other agencies stopped before completion is something we will never know. Were some of those unsuccessful attacks planned by immigrants from these countries? We don’t know that, either. What we do know is the following: the seven countries have a history of terrorism, either as a state sponsor, (Iran, Syria, and Sudan) or as a location where terrorism training camps and support are allowed, tolerated, or encouraged.
Yemen has terrorist training camps. The Iraqi government is in the midst of a battle with ISIS. Sudan has many terrorist training camps and is a state sponsor of terrorism. Somalia is home to Al-Shabaab and many Al-Qaeda terrorist aligned organizations. Libya is a terrorist training center and has been for decades. The reasons these countries are on the list sure seems clear.
What is evident is the fact that President Donald Trump means to keep the campaign promises he made, and is moving quickly to do it. Those actions are, of course, not the usual procedure for a president. This President seems to be running the government just like a business, and as far as I am concerned, it is about time.
President Trump is a President not cut from the same political cloth as other Presidents. President Trump is looking very much like a doer. He is pushing ahead and taking a tactic best described by the words of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut (1801-1870): “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.”
President Trump may stumble along the way as he gets more accustomed to the political scene, but he will find his stride. He always has. In the campaign, he was written off. In business, he was written off. Now, the political establishment of the left, the side severely trounced in this election, has no idea what to do. President Trump is going to move forward on his promises and his agenda. He is surrounding himself with good leaders. The Cabinet has more military commanders than we have seen in a past president’s, but that fact is not something to be feared. Setting up a Cabinet that can and will make decisions is what we as a country have needed for a long time. These are people that have staked their very lives and the lives of those they commanded on the decisions they made.
As time goes on, the gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair will subside. The Democrats and those protestors, the ones that don’t have any idea what they are protesting about, will go back to their corners. The politicians will go back to the partisan rhetoric they have been spouting for decades. The protestors will find another cause, and President Trump will keep doing what he said he would do all along.
Maybe that is the problem the losing side has with President Trump. He meant what he said, and he is backing it up. That is most likely something the opposition never dreamed of, a politician keeping campaign promises. What a novel concept.
Citations for the above article
1 Muslim-Majority Countries Comprising the Islamic World.
2 Trump’s Executive Order–the Scale is Small | National Review.
Jon Harris is an OpsLens contributor and former Army NCO, civilian law enforcement officer, and defense contractor with over 30 years in the law enforcement community. He holds a B.S. in Government and Politics and an M.S. in Criminal Justice.
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