Immigration Surge from Terrorist Countries – New Travel Ban Coming this Week

As I wrote earlier this month, a California court has decided to uphold the restraining order against Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban. In other words, refugees and visa holders from the seven Muslim nations specified in Trump’s Jan 27th executive order are now allowed to enter the US. 

Over 3,000 immigrants from those seven countries countries poured into the US in the days immediately following the restraining order.

We have no idea who these people are. 

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would not provide a nation-specific breakdown of the immigrants, but numbers show a 250% increase when compared to February of last year. 

The seven nations affected by Trump’s travel ban were: Iran, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Syria. A full 45% of refugees to arrive in the US during Trump’s presidency have been from these countries. 

The State Department has allowed nearly 900 unvetted refugees from the seven countries into the US since the travel ban was suspended.

This week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that some of the people fleeing his country are “definitely terrorists.” 

Syrians made up 14% of the refugees being allowed into the US during the days between Trump’s inauguration (Jan. 20th) and the signing of the ban (Jan. 27th). 

Syrians now make up 30% of the refugees being allowed into the country. 

The Trump Administration is expected to announce a revised executive order this week to try to restore the vetting plan while addressing the concerns raised by the courts that blocked the original policy. Trump is expected to sign the order on Wednesday after speaking with lawmakers during a joint Congressional session. 

In the meantime, the White House will continue to fight for the original executive order. 

Opponents argue that the travel ban is unconstitutional and that it sends a bad message to Muslims. “It sends a very bad message to individuals that are being singled out because of their nationality. It also gives a clear impression that there is an effort on the part of this administration to focus on Muslims themselves,” said Obama-era homeland security adviser John O. Brennan. 

The seven nations named in the ban were handpicked by Congress and Obama as part of a vetting bill approved by the former president. These countries were chosen based on the concern that US authorities are not able to properly check identities and backgrounds of potential visitors.