Trump Administration Enforces Decidedly Unconstitutional Immigration Ban
Trump Administration Enforces Decidedly Unconstitutional Immigration Ban
Amiti Sharma
Last week, the recently-elected 45th president of the United States implemented an executive order (EO) suspending aliens from the seven countries of Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia from entering the U.S. for a period of ninety days. Trump’s objective behind the administration of this order is to protect the U.S. from foreigners residing in these countries that may pose a terrorist threat, targeting the ban specifically on nations as opposed religion. The proceedings have caused serious consequences, disrupting the lives of many global citizens, including Americans. Despite the consistent rise of situations which appear to divide U.S. citizens based on difference in opinions, the EO has proved to be one of the only cases the majority of American citizens have formed a united front in order to lift the ban.
Thousands of protestors and demonstrators have taken to the streets, many near Trump Tower in NYC, to support international refugees and their attempts to enter the U.S. However, the United States Senate Judiciary enabled the Refugee Act of 1980, an Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which declares, “the United States [is to] respond to the urgent needs of persons subject to persecution in their homelands, including, where appropriate…admission to this country for refugees of special humanitarian concern.” Furthermore, on January 30th, Trump fired the acting Attorney General (AG) Sally Yates for her bold statements of disagreement in regard to the travel ban. Upon being asked by Senator Jeff Sessions if the AG should speak out if the president makes a claim that is immoral, Yates diligently replied, “I believe [the AG] has an obligation to follow the law and the Constitution and give their independent legal advice to the president.”
Consequently, Yates refused to defend Trump’s travel ban, claiming that she, herself, did not believe it was ethical. American protests took a turn after these events, with thousands of citizens arguing that Trump’s travel ban is indeed unconstitutional, unethical, and goes against the foundation of the United States of America. Recently, U.S. Homeland Security has placed a hold on the travel ban, giving global citizens new hope and allowing citizens of the targeted countries access into the United States, but with Trump’s clear objective to make the travel ban permanent, what awaits is unpredictable.
