Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Immigration Executive Order, the US Courts, and His Explanation

On Friday, 27 January 2017, the Circus Peanut President of the United States banned the nationals of seven Muslim-majority  countries from entering our country for at least the next 90 days by use of an executive order.  The order bars all people who are from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.  These countries were named in a 2016 law concerning immigration visas as "countries of concern."
    The executive order also bans entry of anyone fleeing from war-torn Syria indefinitely.  The President has also stopped the admission of all refugees to the United States for four months.   The order also calls for a review into suspending the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which allows travelers from 38 countries  - including close allies - to renew travel authorizations without an in-person interview.

   This is the exact text of the Immigration Law  -  INA 212 (f) 8 U. S. C. 1182 (f)
(f) Suspension of Entry or Imposition of Restrictions by President
Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.

   The complete text of the Circus Peanut's executive order may be read at:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/text-of-trump-executive-order-nation-ban-refugees/

A Federal Court Judge in the state of Washington, found this to be hurtful to his constituents and placed a "stay injunction" against the order.  The Department of Justice has appealed, at the President's bidding.  The states of Washington and Wisconsin decided to support the Federal Judge in Washington, and more than 100 large corporations have given their support.
  On Tuesday night, a panel of judges on the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit heard arguments in Washington state's lawsuit against the President's executive order on immigration.  The panel consisted of two left-leaning judges and one moderately conservative judge; all three sharply questioned both Washington Solicitor General Noah G Purcell and theJustice Department attorney August E Flentje.  B the end of the hour, it seemed that Purcell had the upper hand.  At least two judges seemed wary of reversing the lower court's injunction against the travel ban, and, as Purcell put it, throwing "the country back into chaos."
   The last Breaking News story I saw (at 1:30 pm MST) stated that there would be no decision made on the ruling today.

   This morning, the President spoke to the Major Cities Chiefs' Association, a professional group of Chiefs and Sheriffs representing the largest cities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.  They formed in 1949 to provide a forum for executives to share ideas, experiences and strategies for addressing the challenges of policing large urban areas.  The members are also very active in advisory roles to the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Defense.  They are frequently invited to testify before Congress.
    The White House released a transcript of the President's "speech" to the MCCA members.  He presented his view of his immigration order, the courts, and how things should be handled.  I cringed when I read through it.  In each paragraph, according to the way the White House broke up the speech, there is, perhaps, one full, complete sentence.  The complete transcript may be read at:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/08/remarks - president-trump-mcca-winter-conference
         I dare you to read the last transcript without (a) shaking your head in disbelief, or (b) laughing.

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