Defending the Immigration Ban: Part I

There is a growing amount of people who would rather fight Trump than actual terrorists. Across the internet and mainstream media outlets, commentators and social justice warriors are sharing their knee-jerk reactions to recent events executed by the president. The latest, a temporary ban of refugees from seven predominantly Muslim countries, is the newest whipping boy for the Trump administration. When discussed by liberal media there are almost always undertones of hate, xenophobia and racism aimed at Trump in attempts to delegitimize him as our president. Many mainstream news outlets are calling it a Muslim ban, an outright fabrication and misdirection. This is divisive and because the president has no greater duty than to keep our country’s citizen safe, the misinformation is shameful.

After Trump’s temporary suspension was announced, an onlooker entering the news cycle with no previous knowledge of politics would think this is the first time similar events have ever happened in our country. However, the left has been sent into disingenuous convulsions. In 2011, Obama suspended normal operations of the refugee program for six months and denied many Iraqis the chance to resettle in our country from their war torn lands. In 2010, Obama let in 18,016 refugees but the 2011 numbers dropped to half that number at 9,388 because of the suspension. No outrage was seen from the left-leaning media conglomerates. This also left many Iraqi interpreters and front line combat allies stranded regardless of their previous loyalty to the US. We didn’t see senators crying on national television or virtue signaling from column writers - it simply did not happen.

In his last days in office, Obama also quietly shut down the decades old “wet foot, dry foot policy” that was in place for Cuban refugees. He removed their instant refugee approval for any Cuban who had accomplished the arduous task of boating from the Communist island of Cuba to our shores.

On top of this, America is still on track for accepting an almost record amount of refugees in 2017 despite the temporary suspension to rework the system. Few report any of these facts to the viewers at home.

“Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own times,” writer Gustave Flaubert claimed almost 200 years ago. This is exactly what is occurring now. Admitted obstructionists are painting Trump and his supporters as neo-Nazis and more. From day one they have labeled every decision he has made as incompetent. A quick glimpse onto social media, blogs or the nightly news reveals words like white nationalists and fascist, all begging the question whether our president and conservatives around the nation are bigoted. They throw around terms like neo-Nazi and racist to the point that when real neo-Nazi and racists arrive, they won’t have anymore words to describe them, they have lost their meaning. The philosophy is followed that if you cannot beat someone with debate then you attack their character. If someone is called a racist on national television, a good portion of viewers could easily believe that simply because it is not expected to be given without merit. The left wants, no needs, these things to be perceived as true. Only then can obstructionism, name-calling and violence we have seen across our nation the last few weeks be seen as remotely justified.

There is an information war for political loyalty. When Fox News is saying one thing and CNN is saying the opposite, someone is lying. After losing the last election, progressives are left picking up the pieces. They will continue to lose more elections with their dishonesty and pushing of victim culture. We ought to ditch the overbearing political correctness. Criticizing ideas like the effects of the spread of Islam around the world should not be considered racism. It is an ideology and should be tested by fire like anything else. If the media does not correct course and more reliably relay accurate information, they will alienate more of their viewers and give another victory to Trump. Even classic liberal thinkers are being abandoned by their constituents for giving Trump an honest chance. Many have learned that if you don’t follow a particular progressive narrative then you are also racist and bigoted even though you are left of center politically. The people who said Obama was going to take their guns and enact martial law were foolish just as the people who paint Trump as a racist fascist are foolish. These extremes do not have to be embraced, America is still a generous country having no equal to justice and freedom.

In any case, the battle for the State Department’s reevaluation of the refugee program has heightened. Last week, US District Judge James Robart placed a temporary injunction against Trump’s suspension of the travel ban. This is legally questionable and will most likely be appealed. Appointed by President Obama, former acting attorney general Sally Yates, before she was fired for not defending the new order, in her official statement said that the suspension was deemed lawful through the Office of Legal Counsel. The continuing legal battle of this suspension and whether it increases the well-being of the U.S. will be discussed in next week’s part two of this column.