A stain on our history
asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.”
The 45th president has broken faith with the first. Instead of welcoming the “virtuous and persecuted part of mankind,” he’s rejecting them. Moreover, his policy is counterproductive. Instead of keeping the country more safe from terrorism, it will make us less safe.
Two Republican senators with impeccable military credentials, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, had the courage to tell the truth: “Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism.”
“This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslins coming into our country,” wrote the GOP lawmakers. “That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorism recruitment than improve our security.”
Trump’s order has provoked almost universal condemnation, from political leaders like Germany’s Angela Merkel to religious figures like the Catholic bishops. Only two groups seem to be cheering: Republicans who are afraid of crossing the new president and jihadists who cannot believe their good fortune.
David Miliband, the former British foreign secretary who now heads the International Rescue Committee, was exactly right when he wrote in The New York Times that Trump’s action is “a propaganda gift to those who would plot harm to America.”
The president’s order bars all refugees for 120 days, bans refugees from Syria indefinitely, and stops all citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days. Moreover, it slashes the U.S. quota for refugees from 110,000 a year to 50,000.
In defending the impact of the order, administration spokesman Sean Spicer used a flurry of “alternative facts.” Only 109 refugees were directly affected this weekend, he said, comparing their trauma to waiting in line for “a couple of hours” at a TSA checkpoint.
But in fact, the impact is far larger. Families were torn apart. Countless institutions -- corporations, universities, hospitals -were thrown into turmoil.