Hello World
and welcome to
Mr. Trump’s BAD BAN
"There is a better way"
(afflictor.com)
First and foremost, Mr. Trump’s original ban on Muslims entering the United states was poorly researched and hastily thrown together. A “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S. was simply campaign rhetoric – wildly popular to many and passionately condemned by many.
However, resisting delving too much into constitutional law, it was simply ‘unconstitutional’ from the beginning. When Mr. Trump said, “Muslim ban,” right then and there, it violated the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause and it also constituted an “establishment” of religion, thus violating one of the two religion clauses of the First Amendment.
The ban was blocked at the U. S. District Court level, and 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals upheld the lower court ruling. Thus Mr. Trump realized he had little to no chance of victory with the U. S. Supreme court.
In response to the courts ruling, he issued a new executive order regarding immigration, not mentioning a “Muslim ban” directly, in hopes he could side-step the 14th Amendment. His second attempt says: Visas already issued will be honored, effective date is March 16, long-term US residents and dual-citizens are not affected; Iraq has been removed from the banned list, leaving Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen on the banned list.
Something curious: 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, yet nothing was mentioned about this powerful, oil-rich ally of the U.S. I just answered why.
With all this being said, Mr. Trump’s second draft is also unconstitutional, for the same reasons stated above. Like it or not, it is the law and this is why we have ‘checks and balances.’ A ‘Muslim ban’ has been clearly deleted from the newest draft, but the intent is clearly there.
“There is a better way.” A better way to deal with 'all' immigration into the United States, not targeting one religion or one ethnic group. With funds diverted from Mr. Trump's $22 billion 'folly wall', the United States should:
Increase airport and border security: Hire more qualified personnel (at airports). Better pay. Better training. And, provide the best-available technology. Place all this security under one wing of government. And, do not allow the air carriers to dictate policy.
As I said in article # 2 of this 3-part series (The Wall), allow the military to patrol our southern border. Work towards better corporation and organization with the Mexican government. And, create a clear-cut policy with the Canadian government, by creating a joint task force of Canadian and U. S. intelligence.
Visas and Green Cards: Again, more personnel need to be added to extend the scope of these documents to allow better follow-ups on holder-travel, residency, jobs, and community involvement. With expanded personnel and technology, we would have faster and better background checks, up-to-date family contacts in the U.S. and in the homeland of the recipient, plus more efficient tracking.
For those who could not provide the required background information for legal entrance, yet otherwise qualify, ‘special’ visas and green cards would be issued, allowing for much greater ‘legal’ government monitoring.
And finally, one of the most effective tools – the American people! The most effective way to target domestic and foreign terrorism is the eyes and ears of our citizens - natural born and naturalized. Regarding Islamic terrorism: Our federal and state leaders should meet with their local Islamic leaders. The leaders and residents know what is, or suspect what is, going on within their communities.
However, many times residents may feel conflict between their religious beliefs and civic responsibilities. This must change! Islamic-Americans must realize and react to the extremists in their religious world. These extremists have vowed to destroy the very fabric or our society which we hold so dear. They need to speak out against this extreme wing. We need to hold the leaders more accountable, while at the same time, asking for greater cooperation. It comes down to helping now or risking greater infringement in the future.
(dailymail.co.uk) (Malawimuslims.com)
One solution is to emphasize pure civic responsibility, with the guarantee of anonymity when providing information. If I may borrow from a program in my former city: The city had an anonymous tip-line where citizens could report suspected criminal activity. Without going into detail, if the criminal(s) was arrested, prosecuted, and found guilty, the ‘tipster’ received a cash payment - anonymously. It was administered like Swiss bank accounts – using only numbers. Yes, as one official said, “Yea, we know (at times) drug dealers are turning in drug dealers to reduce the competition. But at least we get one dealer off the street. Sooner or later, even the tipster will be tipped.” Money for the program was provided by the sale of property seized from criminals. The program was, and is, a great success – substantiated with facts and statistics.
This local program could and should be expanded to the federal level, and for the moment, target specifically domestic and foreign-born terrorism. Each has caused death and destruction. Remember Timothy McVeigh, the domestic terrorist who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1999? He killed 168 and injured 680 others.
Yes, “There is a better way” than singling out one religion – which is unconstitutional. Like it or not! That is the law.
Rather than a “Bad Ban,” we need to spend some of the “folly wall" money on better border and airport security. Improved border-country cooperation. Extended visas and green card enforcement and review. And finally, hold everyone (civic, religious leaders and individual citizens) in our communities accountable for knowledge of criminal activity. If it takes a little financial anonymity – so be it.
And that is the way I see it.
Until next time,
Michael
Side Bar: Part 1 (Send them back. They're illegal) and Part 2 (Mr. Trump's wall will NOT work) are available in Archives on the side bar of the Home Page. You can send responses to [email protected]. In the near future, you will be able to subscribe to this blog.