A couple of things are sticking in my mind about Trump’s travel and immigration ban, which is currently on hold pending judicial review.
First, Trump rolled out this ban via an Executive Order several weeks ago and he told us that it was very urgent that the ban be put into place because those of us in the United States were/are under a serious and grave threat.
After the ban was placed on hold by the Ninth Circuit Court in early February, Trump claimed that he would put out a new/revised order soon. Recently, he had told us that we would see a new Executive Order the week of Feb. 27. Then, after his address to Congress on Tuesday, Feb. 28, White House officials announced that rollout of the revised Executive Order was being postponed so that he could bask in the glow of praise surrounding his speech, which was lauded by many on both sides of the political aisle because he read from the Teleprompter and didn’t sound like he was foaming at the mouth in the way that he had previously. Several pundits claimed that the speech was so good, he finally had started to sound “presidential.” Good grief, being able to read from a Teleprompter should not be all that’s required for someone to appear “presidential.” It was clearly a victory of style over substance for the White House and for Trump.
But, the entire week passed and there was no new Executive Order on immigration.
Apparently the national security threats that created the need for the ban to be implemented quickly, in early February, either was not real, or the urgency had faded for reasons not articulated by the White House.
Maybe we will see a new Executive Order on immigration and travel the week of March 6.
Or, maybe not.
Second, and even more important, the number of people who have been killed or harmed by illegal immigrants is much smaller than the number of people killed or harmed by 1) American citizens or 2) people who legally immigrated to this country.
Instead of trying to make a small impact on a small problem by deporting nearly everyone in this country illegally, Trump should focus his energy on larger problems that affect greater numbers of people.