Travel bans should be banned

I’ve always been a big proprietor of discussion, debate, and the tackling of hard discussions… My most recent columns have been a bit political, but I believe we are entering an era in our country where political conversations can no longer be shied away from because of their inherent nature of being uncomfortable…So let’s get down to the nitty gritty of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order: the travel ban.

Before I contribute my own opinion, let’s evaluate the facts. Trump included in this travel ban the following countries: Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria.

This executive order prevents refugees from entering this country if they come from any of the aforementioned countries; he supported this choice by claiming that these countries had been bookmarked as being hot spots for sources of terrorism.

President Trump also claimed that his travel ban is similar to actions taken by the former President Barack Obama administration stating explicitly, “My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months”. This statement President Trump made is misleading and inaccurate.

In 2011, there was an incident in Kentucky that called for response, during this time there was an increase in the vetting process for refugees and a call for more thorough background checks.

However, at no time was there a halt on visas granted, if anything there was a dramatic slowdown. His travel ban was not in response to any sort of national threat, and was much more broad and ambiguous, including in his travel ban countries that had no contribution to the terroristic attacks committed on Sep. 11, 2001.

Actually it is surprising that Saudi Arabia is not banned, as the majority of the attackers on 9/11 originated from Saudi Arabia.

I find this travel ban to be erroneously placed and extremely unconstitutional. Our country was built on the idea of diversity of cultures, perspectives, religions, and nationalities.

To discriminate against one of these statuses is disrespectful and goes against the founding principles we hold dear. The frightful thing about Trump’s administration is that thus far he’s failed to uphold his promises to “drain the swamp” by making inadequate, “swampy” administration choices, and has pushed these executive orders that threaten our foreign relationships, and set precedents that will likely have dire repercussions.

What standard do we set forth to other countries when we turn away refugees fleeing persecution? Or when we construct a wall along the southern border (which is only ineffective, expensive, and useless) to keep out those on the other side? (Hello? Berlin from World War II called, it wants its oppression back.)

If President Trump’s goal is to increase national security, then maybe an increase in the vetting process is necessary, but to cut ourselves off from parts of the world sends a clear message to our allies and our enemies; and that message could be the nail in America’s coffin.