Jan. 30, 2017, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting former President Barack Obama’s statement via spokesperson Kevin Lewis that President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily blocking travel from countries invoked by the 2015 exceptions to the visa waiver program stipulated under 8 U.S.C. Section 1187(a)(12), which include Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, “discriminat[es] against individuals because of their faith or religion”:
“The Trump executive order barring travel for 90 days from terror hotspots does not discriminate on the basis of religion, as Obama well knows. In 2011 the State Department stopped processing refugees from Iraq for six months, not because of religion, but after the FBI caught al Qaeda terrorists in Kentucky who had snuck into the country posing as refugees. It is a fact that Obama himself as president issued three so-called 212(f) travels bans, as presidents have broad authority to do so under 8 U.S.C. Section 1182(f), which was never repealed by the 1965 Immigration Act and therefore can only be read as a presidential exception in order for the two statutes to be read consistently. That is out 16 such travel active bans that were issued by presidents over the years prior to Trump’s inauguration.
“The law states explicitly the president may ‘suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate,’ the same broad authority Trump is now relying upon in addition to his grant of executive power under Article II of the Constitution.
“There are about 50 majority Muslim countries throughout the world. The Trump travel ban affects seven, which are known terror hotspots. In confronting radical Islam, focusing on those regions most affected by the conflict is a common-sense place to start. In Nov. 2015, before then-candidate Trump issued his own statement on this issue, Americans for Limited Government urged an even broader travel ban than what Trump has issued in light of the Paris terrorist attacks. Addressing this issue is long overdue, and will grant the U.S. the time it needs to reevaluate its broken immigration system and refugee programs, and if necessary, to expand these efforts in order to best protect the American people.”
Attachments:
“Trump’s Exclusion of Aliens from Specific Countries Is Legal, by Andrew McCarthy,” National Review, Jan. 30, 2017 at http://www.nationalreview.com/article/444371/donald-trump-executive-order-ban-entry-seven-muslim-majority-countries-legal
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts including ALG President Rick Manning.
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