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Emma Lazarus’s sonnet meaning seems to be fading in America. In the newest travel ban by the Trump administrations, Chad, Venezuela and North Korea were added to the list.
The list currently consists of Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Iran and the ones previously mentioned. Interestingly, Sudan was taken off the list. When asked why Sudan was removed, President Trump gave no real answer. Many media outlets are saying that Trump’s no-answer shows how meaningless the travel ban is.
On the election trail, Trump issued a campaign press release saying, “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” Additionally, he called for surveillance against mosques and said he was for databases for all Muslims living in the United States. Many people speculated when the first travel ban was announced that this was Trump’s way of enforcing his anti-Muslim agenda, earning it the nickname of the “Muslim ban.” However, the travel ban 3.0 includes Venezuela and North Korea, which are notably not Islamic countries.
Courtesy: The Sun
North Korea, which is infamous for being a closed-off nation whose citizens aren’t allowed to migrate, was most likely added to the list because of the tensions between the U.S. government and the North Korean government. So, while the ban on North Korea doesn’t severely affect its citizens, it is symbolic. North Korea has yet to respond to the travel ban. Venezuela, on the other hand, calls it, “political terrorism.” The United States government says that Venezuela was uncooperative in giving information that was vital in protecting US citizens. Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs defended the country saying they, “were being sanctioned because of their pacifist nature as well as their tolerance and respect for different religions and beliefs.” That being said, tensions have been rising between the US and Venezuela after Trump said the country was, “collapsing” and enforced harsher sanctions on the country. This led to Venezuelan leader, President Maduro, calling Trump the “new Hitler.”
It seems to be very easy to attribute North Korea and Venezuela’s addition to the travel ban to their tensions with the United States, but what about Chad? The White House praised Chad as “an important and valuable counterterrorism partner” and even said, “[the U.S.] looks forward to expanding that cooperation.” Yet, Chad was put on the list because of their lack of ability to share vital terrorism information, which was a slap in the face for Chadian citizens. Their military is one of the most powerful in West Africa and has played a vital role in fighting terrorists, most notably Boko Haram. Some speculate that it was added simply because its citizens are primarily Muslim.
Many Americans went out and protested the ban at different airports around the nation the day after it was enacted. According to the Associated Press, a reported 57 percent of Americans thought the courts acted correctly in blocking the ban (this was before the Supreme Court ruling that allowed parts of the ban go into effect). Therefore many Americans are actually for this ban. Politico reported that when Americans were asked if “they supported or opposed the State Department’s “new guidelines which say visa applicants from six predominantly Muslim countries must prove a close family relationship with a U.S. resident in order to enter the country,” 60 percent of respondents said they supported the guidelines, and only 28 percent opposed it.” Politico also reported that the more recent the poll, the more the numbers of Americans opposed to the ban dropped, while the number of Americans who were undecided increased. With those stats, it seems unlikely that Trump’s travel bans will be coming to a close anytime soon.
Courtesy: NBC News