Donald Trump has been voicing his opinions on professional football rather loudly these days, but he has not lost focus on the Presidency. To help fulfill his mandate of protecting Americans from foreign threats, Trump announced a new travel ban impacting foreign nationals in Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen this weekend.
“Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet,” Trump said in a tweet released shortly after the details of the new restrictions were revealed Sunday night.
The new restrictions will come into effect following Oct. 18. They are not temporary, but can be waived on a case-by-case basis. The new rules are most strict toward residents of North Korea and Syria, who have had their entry to the United States as both immigrants and non-immigrants suspended. Every country impacted by the restrictions will be subject to bolstered screening and vetting requirements. Familiar critics of the Trump administration are already up in arms.
“Six of President Trump’s targeted countries are Muslim. The fact that Trump has added North Korea — with few visitors to the US — and a few government officials from Venezuela doesn’t obfuscate the real fact that the administration’s order is still a Muslim ban,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU, to CNN. “President Trump’s original sin of targeting Muslims cannot be cured by throwing other countries onto his enemies list.”
Despite the whining from liberals, Trump is not backing down from his mandate to make America great again by ensuring that foreigners are not given a safe haven in which to plot terrorism against American citizens.
“We cannot afford to continue the failed policies of the past, which present an unacceptable danger to our country,” Trump said in a White House statement. “My highest obligation is to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and in issuing this new travel order, I am fulfilling that sacred obligation.”
A long and expensive court battle is expected to follow this announcement. The full directive released by the White House can be viewed here.
