On Monday, Donald Trump issued a revised version of his executive order barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries (see: A Look At Trump’s Revised Muslim Ban). According to many activists, including Farhana Khera and Johnathan Smith (of the civil rights legal group, Muslim Advocates), the order still constitutes unlawful religious discrimination.
In this New York Times op-ed, Ms. Khera and Mr. Smith make the following points:
“… anti-Muslim bias and bigotry that characterized the original travel ban remain in this revised version. The order is still limited to only Muslim-majority countries: namely, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Residents of those countries — and only those countries — will be severely restricted in their ability to travel into the United States for 90 days. Left off are the predominately Christian countries that the State Department lists as “Terrorist Safe Havens” like Colombia, the Philippines and Venezuela.
“… the Department of Homeland Security concluded last month that “country of citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity.” Former national security officials from Democratic and Republican administrations have made clear that the January order does not make our country safer. Instead, the bigotry that Mr. Trump spews at news conferences and on Twitter have been a boon for terrorists’ recruitment efforts.
“… The Muslim ban and President Trump’s relentless attacks on Islam are not just an assault on thousands of patriotic, innocent Americans — they violate our Constitution and our most fundamental American values and beliefs.”
