President Trump’s immigration ban: a two-edged sword  

When United States President Donald John Trump vowed during his inauguration on January 20 to put America first in every approach, none, except perhaps those in his inner circle, had a clue what exactly the real estate mogul intended to do to “make America great again”.

But the American President’s executive orders signed on January 27 have seen him grow from an ‘underdog’ Republican presidential nominee to the bulldog of American politics who would stop at nothing to protect Americans.

The executive orders established new vetting procedures for some foreign nationals seeking to enter the US and a ban on seven countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen), including refugees, from entering the US for the next 90 days, and for the U.S. Secretary of State to review application and screening process.

The executive orders established new vetting procedures for some foreign nationals seeking to enter the US and a ban on seven countries (Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen), including refugees, from entering the US for the next 90 days, and for the U.S. Secretary of State to review application and screening process.

The executive orders, which he said are a measure that would prevent terrorists from being admitted into the US, also affect Green Card holders, sparking protests across the US and states, like California, making their intention to leave the US known to government.

Trump also stated in the order that refugees should be prioritized for entry on the basis of religious persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion.

A Nigerian journalist who was a student of the prestigious Columbia University, New York, opined that the immigration ban will in the long run do more harm to America and Americans than good, since immigration and free society are the twin fabrics that distinguish America from Europe and other parts of the world.

“In the short term, Americans will be able to have more access to jobs, since there would not be migrants struggling for jobs with them during the stipulated period. That is the only benefit I foresee. But in the long run, America will pay dearly for it because its citizens in foreign lands will also be either sent packing, like Iran has threatened, or disrespected, particularly in the seven listed countries,” said the journalist, who prefers anonymity.

“The ban also doesn’t make any sense in terms of what Americans stand to lose: over 40 percent of students in America, both at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels, are foreigners. The likes of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, who is a Jew, and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, who is an Indian, are all contributing to the American economy. America’s multinational corporations are all over the world and by the time these countries start taking drastic measures in their own interest like Trump is doing, America’s interest will be badly hurt,” he told BDSUNDAY.

Hassan Rouhani, Iranian President, also holds the same view on America’s future with the rest of the world.

“Donald Trump is new to politics and still has a lot to learn. He has been in a different world. It’s a totally new environment to him. It will take him a long time and will cost the United States a lot, until he learns what is happening in the world,” he said at a space technology conference in Tehran.

Earlier, Javad Zarif, Iran’s Foreign Minister, had said after the executive order was signed that Donald Trump’s decision to ban arrivals from seven Muslim-majority countries was “a great gift to extremists”, as Tehran takes retaliatory action on US passport holders.

“Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening faultlines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks. This shows baselessness of the US claims of friendship with the Iranian people,” he posted on Twitter early last Sunday. 

But Sunnie Amojor, president, TotalMan Fellow, a non-profit men leadership organisation, said anyone in their right senses will know that the step President Trump was taking to address Islamic terrorism was the right one, no matter how unpopular the ban may seem at the moment.

He said rather than crucify the new American leader, world leaders should be telling refugees from war-ravaged Islamic nations to flee to same religious countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, where they can easily fit in and continue with their religion.

“Must you go to America when your leaders have plunged your country into chaos? If America says we don’t want refugees for now and want to ratify its relationship with the rest of the world, why see any problem with it? These refugees should go to Saudi Arabia, which is a rich Muslim country. According to available information, Saudi Arabia can absorb up to 4,000 refugees into its system comfortably,” he said.

“Mind you, it is not an indefinite ban but for three months. The ban and restriction is not against Muslims per se, but finding a new way to tackle Islamic terrorism. Let us be sincere, 100 percent of terrorist attacks on American soil and elsewhere are carried out by Islamic extremists or those they have successfully indoctrinated. So, Donald Trump is also taking extreme measure to deal with it,” he told BDSUNDAY.

He submitted that President Trump’s immigration policy was the best thing to have happened to America’s homeland security, and that any country dealing with terror threat, particularly the West, that was yet to take such extreme step can never be successful in the fight against Islamic terrorism.

“The truth of the matter is that some of these countries are not helping matters. If you go to Muslim countries, for instance, you are expected to dress to suit their religion and observe strict restriction. But when they visit the West, they still want to wear hijab and talk about religious freedom; build mosques everywhere,” he said.

“But is there religious freedom in the seven countries Donald Trump placed restriction on? Are Christians not persecuted and executed in these countries? President Trump should focus on the work he is doing and get it done. He should not allow himself to be distracted,” he said.