EVEN GOP SENATE LEADER SAYS THE COURTS WILL DECIDE IF TRAVEL BAN IS LEGAL

…The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell

 

Trump’s comment about a federal judge being a “so-called judge”, again proves Trump is incapable of being “Presidential”.

 

Once again, we Americans are embarrassed by the actions of our novice president. 

 

I knew that at some point I would be seriously missing President Obama.  I had hoped we could at least get to the new president’s 1^st month in the office.

 

But here I am, seriously missing our first African American president, and Trump has only finished his 2^nd week in office.

 

What is so embarrassing is that once again, instead of attacking an issue, the president had to strike down personally at a federal judge.  US presidents should never "strike down" at anyone.

In a series of tweets early in the morning after Friday’s ruling by the Seattle judge James Robart, the president wrote: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”  Of course, the president's ruling hasn’t been over turned and as of 24 hours of the ninth court’s decision, 26 different states Attorney Generals, and multiple judges from all of the US federal circuits across the country are against the travel ban as being unconstitutional.

 

Trump also wrote: “When a country is no longer able to say who can, and who cannot , come in & out, especially for reasons of safety &.security – big trouble!”  He added: “Interesting that certain Middle-Eastern countries agree with the ban. They know if certain people are allowed in it’s death & destruction!”  However, no one seems to know which “Middle-Eastern countries” the president was referring to.

 

But not only was the ruling NOT over-ruled, the next morning the state department said it had reversed all the visa revocations, meaning that tens of thousands of people whose visas were not physically canceled after the issuing of the executive order, these people may now travel freely.  The president said only about 100 people were affected, but a justice department official said over 100,000 visas had been revoked under the ban.

 

On morning after the ruling, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it would comply with Judge Robart’s order.

 

“In accordance with the judge’s ruling, DHS has suspended any and all actions implementing the affected sections of the executive order,” said acting press secretary Gillian Christensen. “DHS personnel will resume inspection of travelers in accordance with standard policy and procedure.”  Christensen also said the justice department intended to counter by filing an emergency stay of Trump’s order, calling it “lawful and appropriate”.

 

So, just exactly what was it that Trump started with his knee-jerk approach to announcing a travel ban?

 

Trump’s executive order had suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and from Syria indefinitely, and it had placed time-limited holds on the admission of travelers from seven countries including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. The White House and justice department had argued that the order was necessary for national security.

 

However, the reason the Trump Administration had chosen these countries is that In December 2015, President Obama had signed into law a measure placing limited restrictions on certain travelers who had visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011. Two months later, the Obama administration added Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the list, in what it called an effort to address "the growing threat from foreign terrorist fighters."

 

The restrictions specifically limited what is known as visa-waiver travel by those who had visited one of the seven countries within the specified time period. People who previously could have entered the United States without a visa were instead required to apply for one if they had traveled to one of the seven countries.

 

Under the Obama law, dual citizens of visa-waiver countries and Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria could no longer travel to the U.S. without a visa. Dual citizens of Libya, Somalia, and Yemen could, however, still use the visa-waiver program if they hadn't traveled to any of the seven countries after March 2011.

 

But the Trump order also provided preference to people from religious minorities in those countries, and Trump had said in an interview he would give Christians priority as refugees.

 

This of course is the real crux of the order.  This makes the order an unconstitutional infringement of religious freedom.

 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other parties quickly filed lawsuits around the question of whether the ban was unconstitutional and an infringement of religious freedom. A succession of rulings against the government instantly followed.

 

Some Airport authorities continued to hold or bar travelers from the listed countries, leading to charges that the Trump White House was encouraging the airports to disregard court rulings. Such charges will probably be repeated in light of Trump’s promise to “overturn” Robart’s opinion.  Most legal experts say Trump efforts will fail.

 

But please consider that this judge was a George W. Bush appointment and the ruling came from the most liberal of all of the federal districts.  Even so, a Bush appointee saw that after hearing arguments from both Washington state and Minnesota, it was obvious that the president’s order unlawfully discriminated against Muslims and caused unreasonable harm.

 

Even an uninvolved employee at the  Dubai airport described to The Post “the mixed messages, confusion and the emotional toll” the order has taken at his airport.

 

But, as expected, the Trump White House said it would appeal against the ruling, which it first called “outrageous” before issuing an “updated” statement that did not feature that word.

 

“The president’s order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people,” the irate White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.

 

However, even the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) informed all US airlines on Friday night that they should allow travelers from the affected countries with valid visas who had been barred under the order to board flights to the US.

 

But internally at the White House, they are not smiling.  Trump’s senior adviser Steve Bannon and his policy chief Stephen Miller that were responsible for the ruling's writing and its rollout, they have come under intense scrutiny.  Trump may have approved of the concepts, but he is not happy with the way it was rolled out.  Trump’s Republican party has however, now backed the order, though some senior figures did oppose it or criticized its implementation.

 

Trump’s issues with the roll-out are mainly because the worldwide reaction has been almost unanimously critical.

 

And in the US, only one federal judge in Massachusetts has declined to extend the stay against the order issued last week.  He has expressed skepticism that the ban represented religious discrimination.  Think about it.....only one US judge.

 

But in Seattle, one of the 26 attorney generals, Bob Ferguson of Washington state, told reporters outside the courtroom: “We are a nation of laws. Not even the American president can violate the constitution. No one is above the law, not even the president.”

 

So, only 2 weeks into a 4 year term and the new administration resembles the court of an old-fashioned  king or a dictator, with all the infighting and Steve Bannon, as the "Court Jester in cargo pants".

 

A group of volunteer lawyers, calling themselves Dulles Justice (after their campaign to help travelers at Dulles airport in Virginia), they hailed the decision on Saturday.  “This decision shuts down the executive order immediately – shuts it down. That relief is immediate, happens right now. That’s the bottom line.”

 

An immigration attorney, Hailly Korman has stated. “For refugees fleeing persecution or violence, it should mean we’ll be able to welcome them to this great country. For now, this should mean a safe return home for countless travelers from around the world, from Legal Permanent Residents to visa holders.  The White House has already announced their intention to counter this order with a request for an emergency stay. We, too, have no intention of backing down.”

 

Chuck Schumer, the leader of Senate Democrats criticized the president for his insults toward a federal judge.  ”Trump’s tweets”, Schumer said, show “a disdain for an independent judiciary that doesn’t always bend to his wishes and a continued lack of respect for the constitution”.

 

A number of Republicans have disagreed with the ban. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell has deferred to the courts over whether the order is lawful, while House Speaker Paul Ryan has even defended Trump’s order. “This is not a Muslim ban. If it were, I would be against it,” Ryan told reporters this week.  But Ryan is definitely in the minority.

 

Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have led a handful of dissenters in the party, noting that close US allies, including the King of Jordan, have warned that the ban will corrode their otherwise good relations.

 

However, as one would expect, the Republican leader’s offices of McConnell and Ryan declined to comment.

 

It must have become obvious as to how most Americans felt.  At many major airports from Kennedy in New York, to LAX, to Atlanta, human rights attorneys were camped out.

 

Camille Mackler, of the New York Immigration Coalition, said uncertainty remained over how to recover valid visas and how many people would start arriving in the US.  “We’re tracking flights right now and working on our lists,” she said, “but we’re still not clear if people who had their visas illegally cancelled will now have to re-apply or if their visas will be re-issued automatically.”

 

‎Mackler said her group was trying to get the message out to all the travelers affected by the ban that they could now enter the US.

 

Donald Trump's own ignorance about his own order, pretty much says it all.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017