By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Monday, March 6 President Donald J. Trump (R) issued a new executive order on immigration, addressing many of the issues that the courts cited in his previous executive order. That old order which was tied up in the court system has been rescinded by the President. Both of Alabama’s U.S. Senators have released statements expressing their support for the President’s decision.
U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R from Alabama) said in a statement, “The safety and security of the American people must be a top priority. I have always supported a rigorous review of our vetting process for those who cross our nation’s borders, and I am pleased that President Trump has appropriately modified his executive order to achieve this critical goal. I look forward to working with the Trump Administration and my colleagues in Congress to keep our citizens safe from any individual seeking to enter our nation and do us harm.”
U.S. Senator Luther Strange (R from Alabama) said in his own statement, “Protecting Americans and securing the homeland are solemn obligations of the President. The latest executive order takes a proactive, comprehensive approach, and gives us clarity about what steps are being taken to protect our communities. I applaud the President for taking action, and I look forward to working further on keeping America free from violent terrorists.”
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on Monday: “The President signed a new executive order this morning that continues to protect the nation from terrorists entering into the United States, and a related presidential memorandum. As we’ve always maintained, the executive order was fully lawful in the first place, and we would have won the related legal cases on the merits. But rather than leave America’s security in limbo while the litigation dragged on, some estimates having that go up to potentially a year, the President acted to protect the national security by issuing a new executive order that addresses the court’s concerns, some of which merely involve clarifying the intent of the original executive order.”
Spicer said, “There will be a 90-day suspension of travel to the United States by nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, during which time the Department of State and Homeland Security will conduct a review to determine how we can improve the screening process for foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States. These six countries have been previously identified by Congress and the Obama administration as presenting heightened concerns about terrorism.” Spicer claimed. “These governments simply cannot or not adequately supply satisfactory information about their own nationals. In the absence of adequate information from these governments, the President has had to act to protect the security of the American people.”
Spicer said, “There are a number of exceptions to this temporary travel suspension. The order explicitly states that the suspension does not apply to, one, green card holders; two, foreign nationals currently in the U.S.; three, foreign nationals currently holding valid visas; four, foreign nationals who are dual citizens of a designated country traveling on a passport issued by a non-designated country; and last, foreign nationals who have been granted asylum or admitted as refugees previously. There will also be a temporary 120-day suspension of the United States refugees’ admissions program. More than 300 people who have entered the United States as refugees are currently the subjects of counterterrorism investigations by the FBI. We must find a way to better screen refugee applicants to maintain the safety of our own communities.”
Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez opposes the order. Perez said in an email to supporters, “Today, Donald Trump signed a new version of the Muslim ban. His first ban took an incredible, inhumane toll on thousands of innocent people. As Democrats, we have a responsibility to fight back.”
Chairman Perez continued, “For those who quit their jobs, sold their homes and possessions, and left their lives behind to seek out a better life in this country only to be turned away at our borders, we must fight back. For the five-year-old boy and the 90-year-old grandmother who were separated from their families and detained, alone, for hours, we must fight back. For the sick people seeking medical treatment and the doctors coming to this country to treat them who were sent away, we must fight back. For the brave men and women who risked their lives and their families’ lives to help our troops, only to have us renege on our promise of a better life in the United States, we must fight back. For the Muslim Americans who have borne the brunt of a new wave of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the wake of this ban, we must fight back.”
The order goes into effect on March 16.
