President Trump Seems To Be Attempting To Keep His Campaign Promises, No Matter the Cost...

In the beginning of January 2016, during the Presidential primary, Trump’s Presidential campaign released their first T.V. ad in hopes of gaining supporters. This commercial came amid a campaign that some would claim stunk of hate and Alt Right rhetoric. In said ad you hear the narrator saying, “The politicians can pretend it’s something else, but Donald Trump calls it radical Islamic terrorism” as pictures of Hilary Clinton and President Obama strolled across the screen. It then preaches of Trump’s proposal to “ban Muslims,” much as he is saying now. It goes further to state that he is going to keep Muslims from entering the U.S.A. until “we can figure out what’s going on.” The commercial finishes up by telling the American people that Mr. Trump “will quickly cut the head off of ISIS and take their oil” if elected President.

Fast forward to today, January 30, 2017- it appears President Trump is keeping at least part of that promise. He signed an executive order banning people from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Libya and Yemen from entering our country over the weekend in an effort to combat terrorism. There is also a lot of talk going on that there may be a "Muslim registry" implemented. That has not been officially confirmed as of now though. There's a lot of fear talking right now. We'll have to wait to see what actions Trump and his cabinet take in the next few months.

A few important facts about the newly issued orders from President Trump: around 0.01% of terrorist caught have actually came from those countries. The terrorist from 9/11 were 19 men, 15 of those men came from Saudi Arabia (which you will notice is missing from the ban list), 2 came from the United Arab Emirates (which is located in the middle of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Oman on the Gulf Coast), and one came from Egypt. 

Picture courtesy of Slate.com

I was exceptionally shocked that Saudi Arabia and Egypt were not on the ban list given the percentage of terrorism that can be directly linked back to those regions, despite their governing bodies claiming to help fight terrorism. It was even reported that after 9/11 Saudi Arabia's aid to America was lacking sincere effort, even refusing to allow America to use it's bases to fight Osama Bin Laden's soldiers in Afghanistan. I guess if you compare the map of banned countries to the list of countries that Trump has business ties you start to wonder if you're seeing the reasons for the lack of mention of the two countries.

Now, what you believe from there depends on which side of the political line you straddle.

President Trump reports that this is NOT a Muslim ban. While being interviewed this weekend about the detainments and deportations he said this, “It’s not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It’s working out very nicely, and we’re going to have a very, very strict ban, and we’re going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.” Supporters are hailing this move as necessary steps being taken by a “natural leader” who is a “work-a-holic” and is “just getting started.” The White House seems to be happy with the ban and the consequences of said ban on world travel and possibly even on world terrorism. Trump's favorite lady, Kellyanne, even came out to Fox News in response to the ban telling Americans that, "This whole idea that they're being separated and ripped from their family... it's temporary." Families are also reporting that they were told the same thing by border agents. I guess that is supposed to make it better.

As with any political battle, his supporters and non-supporters alike have taken to social media to vent their feelings about the most recent actions of our Government. In response to Trump’s criticism a lot of his supporters are citing actions Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter took during their terms as President in regards to immigrant bans. They are using these examples as direct means to prove Liberals wrong. Why you ask? I seems this has become a Kindergarten shouting match between two sides of extremist that both should be listening to the people that are hanging out in the middle, worried and shaking their heads.

If you don’t know what they are talking about, here’s a quick bit of information to catch you up.

According to Politifact.com in late 1979 an injustice was committed against America. 60 of our American embassy personnel members in Tehran were held captive. The culprits-Iranian militants. The hostage crisis lasted for a reported 444 days. The actions that conservatives of today are speaking of are the actions that President Carter took in response to that situation. You see, in a bid to get the Iranians to end the hostage situation Carter put forth a ban that kept Iranians from entering the United States unless they opposed the Iranian Regime or had a medical emergency. As part of this ban all Iranian students in America had to report to their local immigration offices. This was done to determine if any had violated the terms of their visa, if so they were deported. President Carter also halted the issuing of new visas to Iranians. In 1980, the Times reported that almost 60,000 students had registered with immigration, less than 500 had been deported. By the end, nearly 5,000 Iranians had left voluntarily, as a result of Carter’s actions. Can’t see the difference in what Trump has done and what Carter did? Just ask Kermit Roosevelt, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is quoted on Politifact.com as saying, “The difference [between Trump’s actions and Carter’s actions] is that Iranians were citizens of, and owed allegiance to, a country that was acting against the United States. The class of ‘all Muslims’ has no similar connection to ISIS or terrorists. That makes the analogy seriously flawed."

When it comes to the Conservative claims against President Obama, they are referring to an executive order from 2011. In that 2011 order, The Daily Caller reports, Obama specifically called for a ban that covered "anyone under a UN travel ban; anyone who violates any of 29 executive orders regarding transactions with terrorists, those who undermine the democratic process in specific countries, or transnational criminal organizations." Again, this is different than banning a whole religion to improve vetting processes. Obama’s executive order covered Iran, Syria, and Crimea. Of the three, Iran and Syria are predominately Muslim countries. This also making the circumstances different, his actions were NOT against a single religion.

Now, back to the current situation at hand…

If you believe what the people are saying about the aftermath of Trump’s ban, then you have a different viewpoint of what is going on altogether. There are countless videos and reports coming from social media and various outlets stating that in airports all over the United States you see a very altered picture of reality then what President Trump is depicting. Inside the airports were reported as being chaotic. Lawyers started showing up Saturday night to help the refugees that were being refused entry. Some of the people being detained were found to, reportedly, have Green Cards and were still stopped. People from the 7 key Muslim countries were stopped, their phone contacts and social media accounts reportedly searched, and them asked how they felt about President Trump. Children and Grandparents detained. It didn’t just happen in the U.S. either, airports all over the world are having to turn away people flying to the U.S. that are from those countries. Many of whom recently had visas approved and were headed here. They were already vetted, yet they were detained, questioned, and refused entry.

Protests at JFK Airport. Picture Courtesy of NyDailynews.com

When you turn your attention to what is going on outside airport security then you get a real glimpse of what America is supposed to be about. You see Americans standing up for what America is supposed to stand for. You see humans out in masses, protesting what is being called the actions of a "want to be dictator." You see airports full of men, women, and children holding signs welcoming the refugees that are being detained inside, signs opposing Trump’s ban. Over 5,000 showed up at JFK alone. The Taxi services to JFK Airport protested as well, refusing to transport passengers as they arrived.

NY Taxi Workers Alliance's official statement about the ban

Behind closed doors even more was happening though. The American Civil Liberties Union in Brooklyn, NY petitioned Federal Judge Ann Donnelly to grant a request issued by them Saturday evening to stay deportations of valid visa holders after they have landed at a U.S. airport. Judge Ann Donnelly granted the stay, effectively stopping Homeland Security from deporting anymore visa holders as the got off flights. Virginia, Washington, and Massachusetts following suit, ordering stays. A small victory for the masses, a victory none the less. Crowds cheered as they were given the news. Shortly after, however, Homeland Security issued their own statement. It reads, “The President's Executive Orders remain in place—prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety. The president's Executive Order affects a minor portion of international travelers, and is a first step towards reestablishing control over America's borders and national security."

Despite the Federal Judge’s ruling many reports are stating that border control officers are ignoring the court. They are sticking with what Homeland Security and President Trump ordered them to do. This includes, reportedly, coercing non-English speaking passengers into taking volunteer deportations and, in some cases, refusing civil rights lawyers access to immigrants being detained. The actions of the rogue Border Agents sent civil rights workers into overtime. In one case an Iranian Fulbright scholar was forced on to an AirUkraine flight at JFK-hours after agents had received the court order to stop. Reports are saying that in this instance that, “She was on the phone with us [her lawyers] and stood up [to exit] and asked to get off the flight; the crew just ignored her.” As a result of being ignored civil rights attorneys made frantic calls to higher-level officials-the plane was eventually turned around on the tarmac and the woman returned to detention, instead of being deported. Another media site reporting that a Mother refugee and her children were detained for over 20 hours without being offered food or water. Yet another story coming out reporting that a 5 year old boy was detained and kept from his mother, alone, for 5 hours.

Protests at Seatac Airport in Seatac, Washington. Picture Courtesy of q13fox.com

These court rulings were just victories for people that reached the U.S. shores though. Many others are being detained in other countries, awaiting the (supposed) 90 day ban to end so that they can come to America per their visas, or in some circumstances return to America- WHERE THEY LEGALLY LIVE. Many residents were overseas visiting family or attending funerals and were reportedly stopped trying to return home. Olympian Mo Farah was detained trying to return to Portland, where he lives. He wrote, “On 1st January this year, Her Majesty The Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien. I am a British citizen who has lived in America for the past six years-working hard, contributing to society, paying my taxes and bringing up our four children in the place they now call home. Now, me and many others like me are being told that we may not be welcome.”

Protesters in Boston. Picture Courtesy of chinanewsasia.com

As of today, January 30, 2017, our government has came out and essentially admitted that it made a mistake. Things weren't clear enough, it seems, and Visa holders should not have been detained. This has done nothing to silence the masses that are protesting at airports all over the United States of America over the ban being enacted to begin with. His response to the situation on twitter has some fuming even more. President Trump tweeted out today that, "Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage..." A claim that many believe to be fabricated.

Regardless of what you believe, as of right now, it seems this is just the beginning. Like him or not, Trump made many promises on the campaign trail that he seems to be determined to keep. Of course, while watching out for his own interests as well. Some of those promises that are yet to be kept are found terrifying by many, to say the least. For a look into 76 campaign promises he made check out this link. I hope that our President and his cabinet members wake up to the voices of the people soon and finds a way to balance our countries highest beliefs and morals with his current plan of action. I hope he is able to accomplish this peacefully and without stripping rights and liberties away from humans. America is a Melting Pot. We are a country made up of immigrants and refugees. Our Statue of Liberty says it all: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!"

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