U.S president Donald Trump has shown a lot of determinations to keep most of his election’s promises to the citizens. One such action is the order to ban immigrants from seven countries which were termed as the Terrorism Hotbed by the former U.S president Barack Obama. The majority of this countries are Muslims countries. It has once again brought to air the debate on whether it is the right move for the U.S to ban specific countries. The significance of this idea cannot be underrated. The questions which come into the mind on this topic is who will be the beneficiary of this policy? Can USA benefit from this policy or will it have a negative impact on the citizens and the country as a whole? In this document, the author joins those who claim that the idea is irrational. Though visitors from specific countries sometimes jeopardize the U.S security, the idea of banning their citizens from visiting the USA seems illogical.
Literature Review
The move to ban citizens from specific countries from coming to the U.S by the U.S government has attracted the attention of many scholars. A good number of scholars have expressed their opinion concerning this idea. Those who are against it give different reasons as to why they have a different standpoint from what the U.S government considers critical. On the other hand, the supporters also give their justifications. In this section, some of these opinions are reviewed. Based on the results, most scholars are against this idea terming it irrational. (Five Reasons Congress Should Repeal Trump’s Immigrant & Refugee Ban, 2018), claims that the move to ban particular countries’ citizens by the U.S from visiting the country violates the law. The source states that Immigration Act of the year 1965 mandates the U.S government to give visas to any immigrant coming to reside in the USA. According to the article, the law further states that the nationality of an immigrant should not be a justification to deny him or her a visa to live in the U.S. permanently. Therefore, the article claims that banning these countries by the U.S is against the law of the land, thus irrational.
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(Trump’s visa ban on 7 Muslim nations – Pros and Cons., 2018) Claims that there will be a potential retaliation move by these particular countries which will majorly target U.S citizens. The in this article, the author states that U.S should prepare to face stricter visa screening in case specific nations are barred from visiting the U.S. It implies that there would be a potential crack on the positive relations which has been existing between U.S and countries such as Iran which is the primary target of this policy. The author finalizes by claiming that the states featuring in the hotlist will see the U.S as an enemy, they will thus bar US citizens from visiting their country. It will undoubtedly affect U.S citizens doing business in these countries, as well as those who reside in those countries.
According to Messerli, (2018), this is a move which deteriorates Americans’ image. Most of the countries which seem to be the victims of the idea are Muslims countries such as Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen. According to the author, those who drum for the move claim that the idea is not discriminative to any particular individuals. However, the primary target is Muslims countries. It implies that most people may view the move as increase Islamophobia. America has been known to be a diplomatic country and is usually open to welcome any visitor of good will. However, this move in one way or another puts a black paint on the traditional act among Americans.
(In support of a travel ban, 2018) Refute all these allegations and claims that security of American nationals has been continuously infringed owing to generous visa policy in the country. According to the author, generous visa policy is one loophole of terrorism rise in the country. Terrorists use weakness to sneak into the country and carry out significant attacks which leave the country in turmoil. To the author, banning other nations from visiting the U.S is one move to enhance the security of the citizens.
The idea of banning specific countries is irrational
First, the idea tarnishes the face of the nation and its tradition in the globe. Since the world war II. America had a tradition of accepting refugees. Indeed, the country has done well in accommodating millions of refugees around the world. It is still fresh in the mind how sad and shameful it was when the Roosevelt administration’s rejected the Jews fleeing from the attack by Holocaust. The country should not be thrown back to such shame. It should continue accepting humanitarian migration. It should be done to help the refugees escape violence and miseries in their motherlands despite where they come from. It will ensure that the tradition and image of U.S as a country preserved. By banning specific nations from visiting the USA, the nation will be seen as discriminative to this countries, and this will tarnish its image and undermine its tradition.
Secondly, the idea is against the country’s laws. America has laws that protect its citizens and other citizens from other countries. The immigration act of the year 1965 states that nobody should “be discriminated against in the issuance of an immigrant visa because of the person’s race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence. “In this case, the citizens denied right to visit America faces nationality discrimination. An idea which goes against the laws of the land cannot be termed as rational. In case the idea is implemented, it means that such laws which prohibit discrimination of any kind with regards to refugees visiting the country are null and void (Five Reasons Congress Should Repeal Trump’s Immigrant & Refugee Ban, 2018).
In his arguments to champion for the idea, president Trump claimed that the visitors from some specific countries are the one responsible for jeopardizing the security of Americans. He argues that security of the country must be given priority, and so are the citizens’ protection. This includes banning citizens from countries considered terrorist hotbeds. This argument seems good. However, there are a lot of nativity in it. Most of the countries which are on target possess a minimal threat to the U.S security. The statistics show that no major attack on the U.S has been associated with the citizens of this countries. Moreover, no Syrians or Libyans has been convicted of attacking the country. It thus makes this argument based on security threat irrational (Five Reasons Congress Should Repeal Trump’s Immigrant & Refugee Ban, 2018).
In summary, the debate is still ongoing on whether it would be rational if the U.S ban specific countries within its borders. Based on this research, it is apparent that the U.S will be the losers if they continue with this idea. It will be against the law, discriminative and it will tarnish the image of the country. Though some of this countries are alleged to be a threat to the U.S security, this is not a justification of banning these countries’ citizens within the U.S borders.
- Five Reasons Congress Should Repeal Trump’s Immigrant & Refugee Ban. (2018). Cato Institute. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from https://www.cato.org
- In support of a travel ban. (2018). Cnn.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from http://www.cnn.com/
- Messerli, J. (2018). BalancedPolitics.org – Legal Immigration (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against, Advantages & Disadvantages). Balancedpolitics.org. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from https://www.balancedpolitics.org/
- Trump’s visa ban on 7 Muslim nations – Pros and Cons. (2018). Careerride.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018, from https://www.careerride.com/
