I got this today via an email from Harris, the former California Attorney General who won the Senate seat in November. Thought it was a MOST excellent perspective:
Robert -
I am profoundly saddened and angered by the broad discrimination sanctioned last night by the Trump administration against refugees -- those fleeing violence and terrorism within their country -- and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries.
There are two elements to this executive order: a ban on all refugees entering the country and a ban on all immigrants from seven, predominantly Muslim countries. Make no mistake — this is a Muslim ban, many of whom are women and children displaced by violence.
This runs counter to our national security interests and will be used as a recruitment tool for terror groups, endangering the lives of Americans overseas.
Furthermore, the Trump administration has proposed no practical or effective solution to make Americans safer from terrorism. Remember, between 2001 and 2015, more Americans were killed by homegrown terrorists than by foreign-born extremists. Rather than address that threat, the administration has cruelly closed our doors to immigrants and refugees who are already vetted for more than two years to ensure they pose no threat to our citizens.
Since the Holocaust, it has been the policy of presidents of both parties to open our doors to those fleeing war and oppression. This moral leadership has enhanced our ability to shape world events while promoting global stability and protecting Americans abroad.
Refugees don't make us less safe; they enrich our communities. I have seen refugees in California become business owners in Sacramento who grow our economy and students in Los Angeles developing cutting-edge research, all in the pursuit of contributing to a country that proudly opened its doors in their hour of need.
During the Holocaust, we failed to let refugees like Anne Frank into our country. And today, we are making the same mistake under the illusion of security.
Turning our backs on millions of refugees is a dark moment in American history; one that we must rise to meet because this is only the beginning of this fight. I fear that it will get worse before it gets better.
But I believe that our commitment to action and to defending those who have been left out and displaced will be able to overcome the bigoted policies of this administration.
To our brothers, sisters, and friends in immigrant and refugee communities at home and all across the world -- know that you are not alone. We are fighting for you. We will not give up on you. Don’t give up on us.
Fight on,
Kamala
3 of the 7 countries are state sponsors of terrorism. All 7 countries were previously identified last year as "countries of concern".
"make no mistake this is a muslim ban"...then why is the list not broader than the 7 countries of concern? Seems more like it is a country of concern ban, no?
Refugees in Europe Fear Extremists Are Among Them:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/07/14/refugees-europe-say-they-fear-terrorists-among-them/87008334/
Dozens of terrorism suspects among refugees who entered Germany
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-militants-idUSKCN0Y21F4
Syria refugee admitted to Germany in 2015 was arrested fall of 2016 for planning a bombing
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/world/europe/germany-syrian-arrest.html?_r=0
Turning our backs on millions of refugees is a dark moment in American history
Not nearly as dark as a Veteran sleeping in the streets, or going without medical attention.
3 of the 7 countries are state sponsors of terrorism. All 7 countries were previously identified last year as "countries of concern".
"make no mistake this is a muslim ban"...then why is the list not broader than the 7 countries of concern? Seems more like it is a country of concern ban, no?
Refugees in Europe Fear Extremists Are Among Them:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/07/14/refugees-europe-say-they-fear-terrorists-among-them/87008334/Dozens of terrorism suspects among refugees who entered Germany
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-militants-idUSKCN0Y21F4Syria refugee admitted to Germany in 2015 was arrested fall of 2016 for planning a bombing
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/world/europe/germany-syrian-arrest.html?_r=0
What makes it a Muslim ban is that Christians from Syria would be allowed but not Muslims.
At the same time Trump supports Netanyahu's government and it's anti-Palestinian policies. Many Palestinians are also Christians and so here Trump is anti-Christian. There is no coherence to his polices.
You cite the massive exodus of Syrians and people from a variety of other countries in the last 2 years and the fact that there are ISIS operatives in this group. That is a national security issue in Europe but what Trump did does not stop many of those operatives from coming to the US as they hold European nationality. The purpose of hiding ISIS people in that mass movement was to escape detection in Europe.
The Syrian refugees that are in the US have all been vetted over a period of two years. They are a different group than the refugees moving into Europe above. The majority of the refugees (78%) are women and children. The women and children could easily have been allowed in and any men subjected to further vetting. That is why this is being globally seen as a barbaric and uncivilized policy. You can imagine what this move is going to do to the popularity of US goods abroad.
For security reasons there is justification to monitor people from the countries in the ban. The problem is that none of the terrorists who have engaged in terrorism in the US do come from these countries. None of the terrorists who came over for 9/11 come from those countries. There is no ban on citizens from Saudi Arabia. Egypt, Turkey or Pakistan or Indonesia. Why? Some people believe that Trump only selected countries for the ban where he doesn't have active business interests.
The terrorists in San Bernadino and Orlando were American. The majority of the terrorists involved in European actions were Europeans. It's time to admit that the western world has a home grown problem.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/iran-vows-reciprocal-steps-retaliation-us-visa-ban-164247739.html?ref=gs
It sure didn't take long: In response to Trump's directive, Iran moves to ban travel there by U.S. citizens. I know someone here is going to be a smartass.......I can hear it now........"Who would want to go there anyway?" Well, if you're a U.S. citizen who also happens to be Iranian with relatives in Iran, this is really, really big.
It's already having huge repercussions:
[Edited on 1/29/2017 by robslob]
My home state, which is about to sink into insolvency or rise to number one or two as the most taxed state under decades of democratic policies, profiled a Syrian refugee family here in the Northeast, with their SEVEN children under the ages of 10 in the sunday paper.
One family, nine people, now getting a boatload of assistance. I could rant on and on about how much this will cost, or how unfair to middle class kids it is to get free or super-reduced tuition, or how generosity has back-fired in places such as Brussels, Germany and the UK where they refuse to assimilate.
I wish we could help everyone too, and not penalize people who don't live in poverty. If you have a college age kid, you should be entitled to the same tax credit . Instead,you get whacked if you live above the poverty line and we bend over backwards to help solve third world problems.
they'll prob get free avocados too
Turning our backs on millions of refugees is a dark moment in American history
Not nearly as dark as a Veteran sleeping in the streets, or going without medical attention.
Not sure why you think one thing relates to the other.
We accept immigrants from 40 Muslim countries. The 7 countries that Trump has stopped immigration from are countries where Isis fighters want to emigrate to the US from. Trump's point is any refugees must be vetted to be sure they are not coming here to do attacks.
Until an effective vetting process can be implemented, he's stopping potential for a major attack by this action.
Right now it is necessary.
We accept immigrants from 40 Muslim countries. The 7 countries that Trump has stopped immigration from are countries where Isis fighters want to emigrate to the US from. Trump's point is any refugees must be vetted to be sure they are not coming here to do attacks.
Until an effective vetting process can be implemented, he's stopping potential for a major attack by this action.
Right now it is necessary.
So now you are against the terrorists? Why did the ban not extend to Saudi Arabia? Did you forget where your 9/11 heroes came from? Oh yeah, Trump has business interests in Saudi Arabia, so we can't upset them.
This act is uconstitutional. It is also self serving to Trump. And we have an effective vetting process. It can take up to two years to get a visa because of the vetting process.
The Obama administration identified the 7 "countries of concern" prior to Trump becoming president. Restrictions that Obama already had in place were broadened to a temporary 90 day ban so that the vetting process could be reviewed.
9/11 was 15 years ago. Apparently the Obama administration reviewed the intelligence and concluded that Saudi Arabia was not a country of concern in 2016.
And, by the way...don't Californians wish to secede. We all wish them Godspeed in their effort to do so! 😉
[Edited on 1/31/2017 by Redfish7]
its not about the order in general....its about implementation
And yet it sure seems like a lot of folks (not necessarily you) are making it about the order itself, and not just the implementation.
And as for the implementation, there was only something like 100 people out of 325,000 that were inconvenienced/detained over the weekend.
The Obama administration identified the 7 "countries of concern" prior to Trump becoming president. Restrictions that Obama already had in place were broadened to a temporary 90 day ban so that the vetting process could be reviewed.
9/11 was 15 years ago. Apparently the Obama administration reviewed the intelligence and concluded that Saudi Arabia was not a country of concern in 2016.
So Trump and his supporters really DO agree and support Obama sometimes. How about that! Maybe we're all getting somewhere then.
And yet it sure seems like a lot of folks (not necessarily you) are making it about the order itself, and not just the implementation.
And as for the implementation, there was only something like 100 people out of 325,000 that were inconvenienced/detained over the weekend.
You are ignoring the people who were turned away before they could board their planes. That total was much higher.
Turning our backs on millions of refugees is a dark moment in American history
Not nearly as dark as a Veteran sleeping in the streets, or going without medical attention.
Not sure why you think one thing relates to the other.
It's about priorities. I wished the Senator in question cared as much about our Vets as she does immigrants & refugees.
Pretty simple.
Turning our backs on millions of refugees is a dark moment in American history
Not nearly as dark as a Veteran sleeping in the streets, or going without medical attention.
Not sure why you think one thing relates to the other.
It's about priorities. I wished the Senator in question cared as much about our Vets as she does immigrants & refugees.
Pretty simple.
It doesn't seem very fair to the senator in question to get after her about veterans since she has only been on the job a few weeks. Instead how about directing your anger toward those who have voted against veteran's benefits, such as most of the GOP in congress who voted against a bill that would have made a huge difference in the lives of veterans. Seems like the GOP likes to talk about supporting our veterans and then continue to vote against actually providing them benefits.
https://egbertowillies.com/2016/11/14/republican-block-veterans-bill/
It's about priorities. I wished the Senator in question cared as much about our Vets as she does immigrants & refugees.
Pretty simple.
I wished the President cared as much about our Vets as he does immigrants & refugees. He has more power than the Senator, and he's putting those Vets on the back burner, but don't bother mentioning that. Speaking of which, as alloak pointed out so many times in the gun control argument, that it's silly to change gun control laws because of mass shootings since the odds of being killed in one are slim to none. I would imagine you and alloak are perturbed that Trump is putting such a big focus on something that has a slim to none chance of happening, rather than help our vets.
The emotional noise on this has brilliantly swerved the public's attention away from more serious matters going on in the background.
The emotional noise on this has brilliantly swerved the public's attention away from more serious matters going on in the background.
Exactly, like this:
and this:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-cyber-idUSKBN15F1WW
[Edited on 1/31/2017 by heineken515]
Not what I was referring to, but you knew that.
Turning our backs on millions of refugees is a dark moment in American history
Not nearly as dark as a Veteran sleeping in the streets, or going without medical attention.
Not sure why you think one thing relates to the other.
It's about priorities. I wished the Senator in question cared as much about our Vets as she does immigrants & refugees.
Pretty simple.
It doesn't seem very fair to the senator in question to get after her about veterans since she has only been on the job a few weeks. Instead how about directing your anger toward those who have voted against veteran's benefits, such as most of the GOP in congress who voted against a bill that would have made a huge difference in the lives of veterans. Seems like the GOP likes to talk about supporting our veterans and then continue to vote against actually providing them benefits.
2 things. 1) I am not a Republican, but I believe President Trump when he states that Veterans will be a priority for him....So when a State Senator, regardless of how "new" she is to her office speaks out and for immigrants and refugees and chooses to place their well being before those who wear the uniform in defense of my Flag. Well, I will speak out. 2) It is not to be mistaken for anger, it is shock that this is what she believes to be important.
Turning our backs on millions of refugees is a dark moment in American history
Not nearly as dark as a Veteran sleeping in the streets, or going without medical attention.
Not sure why you think one thing relates to the other.
It's about priorities. I wished the Senator in question cared as much about our Vets as she does immigrants & refugees.
Pretty simple.
It doesn't seem very fair to the senator in question to get after her about veterans since she has only been on the job a few weeks. Instead how about directing your anger toward those who have voted against veteran's benefits, such as most of the GOP in congress who voted against a bill that would have made a huge difference in the lives of veterans. Seems like the GOP likes to talk about supporting our veterans and then continue to vote against actually providing them benefits.
2 things. 1) I am not a Republican, but I believe President Trump when he states that Veterans will be a priority for him....So when a State Senator, regardless of how "new" she is to her office speaks out and for immigrants and refugees and chooses to place their well being before those who wear the uniform in defense of my Flag. Well, I will speak out. 2) It is not to be mistaken for anger, it is shock that this is what she believes to be important.
You are not a Republican. OK, anyone can read your posts and see how funny that comment is. But anyway, the Republicans have cut funding to veterans all through the Obama years. They still control Congress and still control the budget. What makes you think anything is going to change?
One of the things that is becoming apparent is that Trump and his advisers have not thought anything through. The backlash from other nations and businesses caused by his executive orders will come back to hurt Americans. Other counrties will make it difficult for American companies to do business. For every action there will be a reaction.
You are not a Republican. OK, anyone can read your posts and see how funny that comment is.
Haha!...Anything to entertain you, Mr Perfect!
So when a State Senator, regardless of how "new" she is to her office speaks out and for immigrants and refugees and chooses to place their well being before those who wear the uniform in defense of my Flag. Well, I will speak out.
But you won't speak out against trump who is putting his immigration policies before veterans.
Regarding the veterans, one of the things that boosted Trumps appeal were his open criticism of Mr Military, John McCain. McCain has failed veterans and Trump called him out for all talk and no action. My point is, this is a new mindset for many of the long term Republicans and Rinos. You are right that past republicans did not make vets a priority, but there is a new sheriff in town.
So when a State Senator, regardless of how "new" she is to her office speaks out and for immigrants and refugees and chooses to place their well being before those who wear the uniform in defense of my Flag. Well, I will speak out.
But you won't speak out against trump who is putting his immigration policies before veterans.
Strange, as he says that he isn't a Republican. I wonder what is holding him back?
Regarding the veterans, one of the things that boosted Trumps appeal were his open criticism of Mr Military, John McCain. McCain has failed veterans and Trump called him out for all talk and no action. My point is, this is a new mindset for many of the long term Republicans and Rinos. You are right that past republicans did not make vets a priority, but there is a new sheriff in town.
The new "sheriff" has made himself his one and only priority.
So when a State Senator, regardless of how "new" she is to her office speaks out and for immigrants and refugees and chooses to place their well being before those who wear the uniform in defense of my Flag. Well, I will speak out.
But you won't speak out against trump who is putting his immigration policies before veterans.
Once again, I believe President Trump will bring change to the disgraceful way our Vets are treated.
