I don't know how I feel about this, could it be something we need one day? Could it have been done with more forethought and a time period given rather than how things were handled? It just doesn't feel like it was handled correctly. Is it because we've lived in such a politically correct limbo since Clinton was in office or am I still scared a narcissist is running my country?
I was surprised to find out...
Trump didn’t select seven “Muslim-majority” countries.
US President Barack Obama’s administration selected these seven Muslim-majority countries.
https://sethfrantzman.com/2017/01/2...lim-ban-possible-and-the-media-wont-tell-you/
I don't know if that guy is just confused or purposely disingenuous about what actually happened, but I will try to give some background. Back in 2015, during the Omnibus spending package debate, there was debate about improving the visa waiver program in response to terror attacks in Europe and elsewhere being conducted by dual nationals of European countries. In other words, a French citizen that was born in Syria that committed an act of terrorism.
The VWP (Visa Waiver Program) is only a limited number of countries. Many of them are found in Europe or are high-income Western nations. Instead of requiring those nationals to obtain a visa to visit the US (like most other people from other countries are required to obtain), the VWP allows citizens of those countries to enter the US without applying for a Visa. In many cases all they have to do is go online and put in their travel info, and then when they arrive to the US they are processed without the need of a visa.
Part of the function of the VWP is so that American citizens don't require visas to enter other Western countries like the UK, France, Germany, etc. It is a mutually beneficial program. However, with the war in Syria and the rise of ISIS, it became apparent that dual nationals of those counties could exploit the VWP to enter the US without receiving the scrutiny that a typical Syrian or Iraqi citizen would receive (because they require a visa to be able to travel to the US).
So Congress decided that they would restrict the VWP for people who were a dual national of certain countries (specifically Iraq and Syria) or had recently visited those countries with certain exceptions. They were not banned from coming. They just were required to get a visa instead of being able to enter under the VWP.
Furthermore, Congress set up a number of specific criteria and ordered DHS to identify any other country that might fit those criteria, and then add those countries to the list. That included countries that were listed as state sponsors of terror (like Iran) as well as countries that had a high number of citizens that had entered or exited Syria and Iraq. There were several other criteria, but the DHS (Obama admin) was required by law to identify those countries per the legislation that Congress passed that was inserted into the Omnibus spending bill.
Of course Obama signed this into law because the huge Omnibus appropriations bill was required to be signed into law or the government would shutdown.
So, I'm not saying the Obama administration doesn't have any blame for those countries being identified as high risk to begin with, they absolutely could have shut the government down over that legislation being part of the Omnibus, but they obviously chose not to. And, of course, the Obama admin probably didn't completely oppose limiting the VWP because nobody has a right to be a part of the VWP, and with the number of dual nationals being suspected as part of terror plots (at that time) it wasn't illogical to require a higher level of scrutiny and make them apply for a visa.
I would think everyone can see that requiring someone to apply for a visa instead of being allowed to enter the US without one is completely and totally different than being banned from entering the United States even if you are a United States Legal Permanent Resident or risked your life translating for or serving our military in Iraq.
Just wanted to clarify because Trump certainly wasn't required to use those 7 countries or any country at all. He could have just included Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Lebanon if he had wanted to. It was completely his decision and actually quite different than being required by law to increase the scrutiny of certain travelers from certain countries (which is what the Obama administration was required by Congress to do).
