Persecuting the blameless is job one in a dictatorship, whose source of power is fear, intolerance, and hate. Another day of shame for the new America.
5
I have many good Nigerian friends who immigrated to this country. American has benefited from the immigration of Nigerians(as it from the immigration of Iranians and so many others who are now considered undesirable by the current administration). I cannot fathom how it is necessary to block everyone from a particular country-especially from what is arguably the most significant country in Africa-when properly-done visa vetting processes are already doing a good job. Shame, again, on this administration. This is just dumb.
6
Immigrants are the human capital which transform hope and dreams into reality. Planted in the soil of opportunity and education, they produce cultural diversity, genius, and economic growth.
Ask your economist what happens when an isolationist nation blocks foreign trade and investment in its economy.
5
It seems that every time Trump escapes from facing justice, the very next day he perpetrates another outrage.
4
please, could anyone explain, does this ban in anyway affect an already submitted or filed Immigrant Visa Application (i-130 for spouse of U.S Citizen) since last year ?
My dad, a brown immigrant to this country, served 26 years in the US Air Force, and 20 years in the New York City Police Department. He’s a real manly man in every sense of the word. But when he watches the news, and he sees how quickly we’ve turned our back on the very concepts/ideals that drew him to this country -duty, honor, respect, integrity, truth, cooperation—he cries the biggest of crocodile tears. He devoted his entire life (and sacrificed) to uphold the values of the nation. And how painful it must be to sit and watch the values/beliefs you gave your life to crumble right before your eyes. I hope with all hope that this moral regression of ours is just temporary.
3
I have known in America a great many Nigerian students and several medical professions and medical students. I only knew one who lived in a hut.
I am curious if without an advisor present and given a large globe with national borders, rivers, deserts, and mountain ranges, President Trump could point to Nigeria. (I do believe he could at least find the continent.) I do suspect that the writers and presenters of his briefings should learn how to be ‘brief!, the four basic types of briefs used by the mikit
Please Mr President. As a conservative republican, I ask you to read your morning intelligence briefings at least once a week. If you do not know intelligent, honest Nigerians, you need to hang out with a better crowd of people, morally and intellectually.
I agree with much of your attitudes towards Russia. ( Two years I spent in Moscow on a DARPA Grant with 15 of their best computer programmers developing a file system for shared data based on such subjects as missing nuclear materials, child and woman sex trafficking, China, space, and a good many other interests and concerns we share.
Similarly with China, although in the past decade . . .
Yes. You are wise to consider the background of some areas of Nigeria’s ISIS type terrorists and some extremely wealthy corrupt politicians. But our embassies should find that fairly easy to screen out.
Also, remember President Trump how much we need to share intelligence with Nigeria wrt strategic minerals regions in Africa.
DNA analysis shows that 80% of african americans have nigerian ancestery.. that would be about 10% of the entire US population.
Impeachment and this being a Friday evening is proving that Stephen Miller knows its a great time to bury bad news.
If I am not mistaken Nigerians can get student and tourist visas but not immigrants visas. This totally gives lie to the security basis of the ban and the argument by which the ban was upheld by the Supreme Court. I hope all of this is challenged in the courts again. This is simply a racist policy and effectively a cruel family separation policy. This applies to the Rohingya burmese too. There is no security basis whatsoever to this immigration ban expansion.
I hope once the impeachment distraction us over with this wild expansion of the immigration ban is exposed and debated for what it really is.
3
Someone explain why does the US needs more population.
-The country is not unsettled, it is fully settled and I’d argue the urban sprawls in the West and Texas mean the nation is bloated already.
-There is no shortage of labor as real salary for the lower/working class have stagnated for decades.
-There’s no shortage of talent as we have the best higher education system in the world and a population of 300+ million to fill them. Just need to improve public education.
On the other hands, letting more people into the US results in urban ghettos, depressed wages, over stretched public education/hospital system, and orders of magnitude increase in CO2 footprint.
And before anyone say “we’ll be getting engineers, scientists, and doctors from Africa”, is that a good thing? We’d be taking the best and brightest from a continent that’s home to 70% of the worst countries in the world. It’d be like robbing the poor.
It is time we stop behaving like 1%er and stop seeing 3rd world immigrants as cheap labor and consumers to be exploited. Take responsibility and close the border. Help 3rd world countries, improve the environment, and don’t growth for the sake of growth.
7
Trump is helping Putin again with this ruling and this ban.
1
The original 90 day "emergency" muslim ban on security grounds has long since evolved and metamorphosized. This is clearly moving towards a brown/black ban from "high risk" immigrant countries.
I wouldn't be surprised if a immigration visa ban (not for all visas) is put in place for Mexico, Brazil, China and India very soon in to a 2nd term.
When my father was in a nursing home for the last 3 years of his life, the vast majority of his nursing and attendant staff were all nigerian immigrants. They were some of the most conscientious, kind and wonderful people I have met. I would have said, "quite ironically" they were all christian and not muslim. However this ban is not muslim any more but clear shiftinging towards a racist non-white immigrant ban which existed until the 1960s.
2
“The administration has said waivers are issued to those who would experience undue hardship if denied entry into the United States.” Does genocide not qualify as undue hardship?
1
To the readers on the other side of the Atlantic,
This is actually helpful in Nigeria, as it has awoken a sense of civic awareness in many that the fundamentals of governance in the Federal Republic of Nigeria are dysfunctional. They are dysfunctional to a point where citizens are even more aware of the lack of proper governance and the proliferation of corruption at almost every level.
Read the comments section in the local Nigerian daily newspaper. Many Nigerians do not blame Trump for this, rather they see this a failure of federal and state government.
Here is a link:
https://punchng.com/trump-imposes-immigrant-visa-ban-on-nigeria-others
As for including Nigeria, perhaps this is pushback against the excellent new TV sit-com: Bob Hearts Abishola. You see, network TV now shows a white American citizen and a black Nigerian immigrant - and their families- interacting positively- even romantically. I hope the show/writers will address the new ban in an upcoming episode!
1
He's an alt-right President, supported by an alt-right administration, protected by an alt-right political party and Judiciary, promoted by an alt-right news channel and various alt-right media groups. Racism unbound.
2
It makes me sick that this nation, a nation of immigrants, a nation that uses the Statue of Liberty as it's symbol of acceptance is being so overtly racist and xenophobic.
The last time we were so restrictive during a time of economic prosperity, in the 1920's, the decade ended with the great depression. American ingenuity and originality comes from its acceptance of, and at times fusion of world cultures.
Like Bush before him, this president is draining our resources--with a huge tax debt--and will leave the treasury and the country crippled for another Democratic president to fix.
2
A world where facts don’t matter is a world marching toward totalitarianism. The “brave new world” is one where the government declares what is real.
Government officials all over the world have been known to lie. But mostly those lies were to cover up thief own failures or misdeeds.
Today’s lies are designed to create in the American mind a new reality. Trump has merged the psychological power of advertising with the power of the government to create a new a fear machine.
In 1939 when German troops crossed into Poland the world saw this as an invasion that had to be stopped. But the German people saw this as a necessary effort to halt the mistreatment of German nationals who were living in Poland.
That’s what they were reading in their papers and that’s what they were hearing from their government.
Today our government tells us over and over again that we are under threat from immigrants and the greatest threat is from Islam.
The next greatest threat is from brown people and black people who “swarm” across our border.
In truth the greatest threat we face is from our own government and the media who play the same role today that their counterparts did in 1939.
The world ignored that powerful propaganda machine in 1939. After all, that new chancellor had restored German dignity and American capital who invested in this new government was once again reaping a profit.
And suddenly it was too late. It is not yet too late for America. But it is late, very late.
1
Unbelievable.....not....of course trump would enact such a heinous dictate. And more to come. This won't bother his most rabid believers nor the republicans in both house and senate. Democratic party leaders must rally around the most viable candidate, and we all should work towards getting the vote out in 2020.
1
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia also need to be on this list.
2
We have enough immigrants here already. How many more Uber drivers or corner liquor stores do we possibly need? And let's no forget the +12 million "undocumented immigrant workers," enough is enough .. I support the ban.
4
add Saudi Arabia to the list. without that this policy is a toothless tiger.
2
By blocking Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, this Administration is condoning Aung San Suu Kyi’ s policy against Muslim minorities. A country once known as a beacon of hope and welcomed refugees fleeing from political and religion prosecutions has now completely shut its door to people who have nowhere else to go.
1
My same-sex boyfriend is Nigerian. He’ll leave the United States over my cold, dead body. And no, we do NOT have to get married to keep him here because we don’t want to marry. We've been together happily for 11 years, and we have always felt that marriage (a profoundly personal decision) would be bad for our relationship. Trump and his Republican Supreme Court justices are WRONG.
3
As a condition of lifting the travel ban on Nigeria, perhaps the administration include a formal apology from the Nigerian government for its role of providing slaves for export to the western world. Benin has already issued a formal apology.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2000-05-01-0005010012-story.html
1
As the upcoming election gets nearer, the more desperate he will get. He needs something to rile up his base... some of whom are getting depressed at his blatant corruption despite what Fox News will have you believe.
He's desperately trying to find a new 'build a wall.' He knows it's not looking good. Let's all just continue to stay focused on winning the upcoming election and ridding this country of a morally bankrupt corrupt conman masquerading as a president.
2
More senseless bigotry compliments of Trump and Stephen Miller. It is yet another policy that splits up families and targets religious minorities.
These are the people that Republican Senators continue to trust with our foreign policy, despite damning evidence that they cannot be trusted. Senators are collaborators in this bigotry.
4
Mr Trumps travel bans are meaningless political charades.
If Mr Trump wanted to protect America, he would require quarantines of business people that have met at neutral sites outside of China, but are still possibly infected by secondary contact.
Mr Trump should enact rigid travel bans against business for the foreseeable future.
I don't agree with the reasons Trump is clamping down on immigration or the methods he's using but I am glad someone is willing to put an end to mass migration into the US. We've had 40 million people come to the US since 1980. It's just to many new people in a time of rapid economic and social change. It's led to insecurity and animosity amongst US born citizens, it's exasperated declining blue collar wages and the drop in union membership, it's made it harder to get the government to fund higher education and social welfare services and appears set to radically alter the culture of the US in some ways. Both good and bad. I'm good with immigration as long as the number of people admitted is kept within reason. Say a maximum of 1/3 of what it has been since 1980. Both for humanitarian and economic reasons. We can do that without caging children or ignoring our constitutions principles on free expression. We can still allow in refugees and those with political asylum cases without being cruel. I hope that's that's the direction we go instead of targeting people based on their faith or nationality baring good evidence for such things. Certainly we shouldn't admit self confessed extremists and violent nationalists but immigrants like that are very rare. As distasteful as I find most religions we definitely shouldn't be banning people based on religious belief.
1
Executive Orders, while expedient and sometimes necessary in a crisis, are not the law of the land. That Americans accept them, that acceptance is conditional.
Of course the mind-set of Trump and people like his is that you issue the order and move on. That is not how our system of government works. Once in place the EO needs to be converted into an actual law passed by both houses of the legislature and then signed into law.
In the meantime, we have to remember that all those employed by the government work for We-the-People not for a single person or institution. Therefore, those people get to respond by saying: "Sir, No Sir!"
The reality is that Trump has less absolute power as president than he did/does as the head of The Trump Organization. Even there, where his power is at its zenith, he cannot make a person follow an illegal order.
Perhaps we have finally become "A Nation of Sheep" blissfully following a shepherd who is leading us to the slaughter-house.
Like those before us in other nations we follow without realizing that if we allow one person, or one group of people to be singled out for punishment that punishment will arrive at our doorstep and when that happens there will be nobody to defend us.
Many of the egregious actions happening today are backed only by EO's. I'm wondering when enough people will stand up and say "Sir, No Sir!" - when enough do, the tyrant will have a tirade but will lose all perceived power.
3
I am far far from a fan of the incumbent but we must protect our citizens from a flood of refugees. Our failed immigration policy is the fault of Congress which cannot agree or even compromise on much of anything. Of course the two parties are riven by the autocrat in office and that does not bode well for our nation's ability to govern.
2
"The administration has argued the ban is necessary to ensure that countries satisfy security requirements for travel into the United States," Then why is Saudi Arabia not there?
3
Essentially Roberts and those who voted with him choose to rely on the preferred Trumpian method of paying for Visas or green through investing with approved individuals or funneling money as donors in order for the US to remain white and retain and enforce our Christian religious freedoms. How admirable. Roberts will be recorded into perpetuity as the Chief Justice who sat as judge on the Trump Impeachment trial while Trump's head of defence lawyer kept secret he was also a material witness to the facts brought forth. The trial of the Century where the Senate and House closed the doors on co equal branches of government and opened the door for this Republic need
not hold elections because we are doing
what is in the best interest of the people.
2
As appalling as this sounds, any examination of US history reveals that such policies are the norm, rather than the exception.
Up until WWII, the exclusion of immigrants from disfavored/unpopular countries was standard US policy, and during WWII we actually interned our own Japanese-American citizens.
Imagine the uproar if Trump tried to treat Muslim-American US citizens the same way FDR treated Japanese-American US citizens!
Sad to say, Trump's policies in this areas are not that far out of line when compared to policies of past US governments.
Trump will trumpet this in his campaign. His followers will blindly cheer him on. Tragic. However the Democratic Party will have to develop a sensible and humane policy on immigration or they will risk losing voters sitting on the fence who are concerned about our stalled progress on this subject. IMO this is critical to Democratic victory in November.
1
The U.S. is limiting visas to travelers from countries with inadequate identity management, poor passport controls, and not sharing terrorist information. One of these countries doesn’t have electronic passport controls, so there is no way for the US (or anyone else) to know if the passport is stolen. This is a reasonable action to encourage these countries to improve their identity management.
2
The number of Americans killed in a terrorist act in America by refugees, immigrants, visitors from citizens of Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan,Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar - the six new countries added to Trump’s ban - is precisely ZERO.
The number of Americans killed in a terrorist act in America by refugees, immigrants, visitors from citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea - the seven countries (an eighth country, Chad, was removed) from Trump’s previous (much challenged and modified) travel ban - is precisely ZERO.
Democrats do not oppose additional vetting of citizens of these countries or any other country as required by legitimate security assessments and real risk. The Obama administration did just that without smearing entire groups or countries.
In the meantime Trump aggressively supports Saudi Arabia - one of whose Air Force officer that we were training just killed 3 American soldiers in a terrorist act. Saudi Arabia gave us Bin Landen, 15 of 19 of 9/11 terrorists, Wahhabism that is primary ideological foundation for Al Qaeda and ISIS, that created Taliban (along with US support). Trump supports Saudi Arabia and the fake MBS reforms for billionaires to make more money, for oil, weapons sales, regional challenge to Iran (though Saudis are incompetent), MBS blanket support for Israel.
Trump’s pretends to tackle terrorist threats with travel bans, but supports the country that has been the greatest source of global jihadist terrorism.
3
Anyone remember how Trump justified his original travel ban by citing the need for new, "extreme" vetting procedures? Anyone remember him saying that those vetting procedures would require three months to draw up and institute? I guess he's still working on them, huh?
3
Thank you, President Trump. You have our vote in November! Keep us safe and keep America great.
2
Chief Justice of SCOTUS and not Trump will do down in history as the worst ever. First Citizens United and now list goes on forever. Wait till he finds a way to remove all EPA recommendations and invalidate Obamacare.
1
Trump will go down in history in the same chapter as his friends Kim and Putin. He won’t be called an advocate for anyone but autocrats. "These people" were what you would have called my grandparents a century ago.
1
This has reached hysteria levels, worldwide, and even in China. I just read an article where someone on Chinese TV was misinterpreted and rumour is that cats and dogs cause it and people in Chinese high-rise buildings are throwing their cats and dogs out of the windows. One dog landed on someone's car and damaged it and the dog was dead. Someone else from China said in the same article I read that it's filthy farming practices, slaughter houses, and live animal markets that are causing all these viruses and government needs to do something about it. Dogs and cats are not spreading the virus.
We don't get this stuff in NZ and it's because of strict farming and hygiene practices, and small population. Hey everyone! NZ is still open for tourism. The virus will probably die in NZ as we have clean air and clear skies.
1
Someone below said - give POTUS an inch, he will go a mile.
Indeed, why not?
Congress having abdicated its important role in immigration legislation - somebody has to rectify.
Not sure that this piece stressed it - but one justification for these rules is prevalence of citizens of these countries to abuse visas - by never leaving America - once admitted even on a visitor Visa.
No one can doubt that despite all negativity - America still legally admits over 1 million immigrants every year.
It is these Visa abusers, terrorists etc. that give our immigration system a bad name.
I live in Bogota.
At my country club, we have a waiter who was deported from America - having lived there illegally for several years when his Visa was good for 60 days.
Even he admitted, he was surprised it took America so many years to finally ask him to leave.
This POTUS has changed the conversation from where every visitor thought he had a right to get away with violating our laws.
POTUS has changed it to - you have no such rights under our laws.
India which has very restrictive immigration and Visa rules - folks from there think nothing of violating our laws.
It is reported that over 100,000 Indians live illegally. They are significant in numbers being apprehended at our southern Mexico border.
POTUS is saying - no more.
And that's a good thing.
Recently refugees I tutor in English have been from a number of these now banned countries. They are energetic, hard-working folks, many of them on the younger side, who have been through horrors. While this latest block does not seem to focus on refugees, it is rooted in the ongoing xenophobic policies Mr. Trump and his base favor. It is also sad. Immigrants add energy, diversity, and youth to our ageing population. They are hard workers, inventive, and, despite right-wing claims, have a lower crime rate than the native-born population. This drive to build walls and pull up the drawbridge makes me sick.
As at as I know, Australia, whose policies on most issues would be considered liberal in the US, has had very stringent immigration laws for decades. Thirty five years ago a (white Anglo) US businessman I knew went to Australia to expand his business there. He had an Australian partner in the venture. He was grilled upon entry, told he had 3 weeks to do his work, and if he did not leave then, the authorities would come after him and remove him. Recently I read that Australia picked up and removed various Pacific Islanders who were attempting to sneak in by boat. Mass Islamic immigration has fueled hatred in England and Europe as well, with Pakistanis, North Africans and Turks poorly assimilated even today. So please don’t make this about Trump or his 2020 campaign. Go back to your Trump quote from his first ban - until our representatives figure out what is going on over there. Not a bad idea. Cutting off immigration did force many of those countries to clean up their passport acts. Hopefully it will work with the others, as will economic vetting in the next Trump administration.
Liberals write comments on blogs while the Conservatives change policy to fundamentally change this country. Liberals need a new strategy or else Conservatives will continue to just rule and frustrate the country with its policies.
Trump will protect our borders. It’s a promise
he is running on and he is working at keeping that promise.
1
"But before the announcement on Friday, an American government official said the administration planned to add Nigeria and Tanzania to the list because of the number of people coming from those countries on a visa who end up staying in the United States illegally."
I'm a painter in San Francisco. I've worked with and met more people from Canada and Ireland than any other country who've overstayed their visas and continued to live and work in SF. For years. I'm sure someone out there will respond that this is "whataboutism" and, yeah, i guess it is. what about the Canadians who overstay their visas? Is it really because they're white and assumed christian that Canada is not on this travel ban? If the above reasoning is true than every country belongs on the new travel ban.
And another point. Tanzania is not a majority muslim country. Its population is mostly christian.
1
I've been living in Kyrgyzstan for 4 years. I've worked, and still work, with some amazing people. In July, I got married. My wife is a Kyrgyz citizen. We've been told that she can't get a tourist visa because any Kyrgyz citizen that gets married to an American has intentions to immigrate. Nevermind that we intend to live here for a few more years. So fine, we'll apply for the immigration visa. Now what? This immigration visa ban? Now my wife can't visit my family? Now we may not be able to live in the U.S.? How will Kyrgyzstan react? Will it become difficult for me to renew my visa to Kyrgyzstan? Will we have to find a country that we can both live in together? I wilt at the prospects of trying to build this life of mine, my wife's, and our future children.
Meanwhile, neighboring China fills the void. Kyrgyzstan is in major debt to China, and China successfully leverages these debts in other countries. Russia, the old governing power, seeks to maintain a tighter hold on its former Central Asian territories. This year has been declared the Year of Russia and Kyrgyzstan by the two nations. I grimace at the rapidly changing geopolitics of the region.
25
My father recently passed away after a long battle with diabetes and kidney disease. He also developed dementia. He loved his home and we did everything to keep him in his home. We could not have done it without the help of home care aides from countries in Africa. They were caring to my father and our entire family, and showed respect of the elderly I do not always see from our great American culture.
We had one care giver, Khalid, from Tanzania who was amazing. Worked with us over 60 hours a week, traveled a long distance every day via public transportation and was never late. He came in the snow, he helped when my dad was in rehab, he brought dad to the piano, and most important, he always gave my dad his dignity. Because of his care, my father was content and happy at home. Khaild is now family.
A little more than anecdotal, because over a period of 3 years, we met a lot of aides. Not one scared me.
6
Xenophobic closed border? Sure looks like it.
2
I know medical doctors from Nigeria, highly respected, working in the US. So their relatives cannot visit? And according to Donald Trump, should these physicians, who are saving lives, not be here either?
Shameful and embarrassing.
299
@MIMA
I know some who are quacks and crooks.
In any case the important issue not your anecdote or mine but data. Do travelers from country x, in this case Nigeria, show an increased rate above the norm of visa overstays, immigration fraud, subsequent arrests, or other problematic behavior? If so it is simple prudence to restrict travel from that country.
Do you know that data for Nigeria? If the government says that Nigeria has been a disproportionate source of desirable outcomes, do you have data to dispute that?
29
@KBronson
I’m sure Donald Trump would be prepared to recite data....
20
@KBronson Do you have data to suggest they are a threat at a greater per capita rate than any country?
25
I don't understand the safety concern if these people are allowed to enter as students, just not as permanent residents. Is it really more about preserving the white Christian balance here?
21
@NYer - Bingo! That's his base so he's not keen on upsetting that 'balance'!
1
My paternal grandparents, Ottoman Greeks, fled genocide in 1913 and came to this country. My grandfather was a firefighter in the FDNY.
In present times, a friend of mine has adopted a Rohingya brother and sister who fled genocide. They are both bright, hardworking students, and it is a privilege to know them.
I work with colleagues from many places in the world who have become citizens, and they describe the experience as deeply moving, and a dream come true.
People in this country are taking for granted its moral leadership in favor of xenophobia and ignorance. We are not a representative government when senators in sparsely populated homogeneous places can outvote senators with majority diverse populations.
It matters to vote. Only Democrats seem to care about justice for all, even if it is a slow evolution. It's time to change this, not give up.
257
@Just Live Well The good ole days are no more. MARA eg. Living in nostalgia won't help against reality.
@Just Live Well The Republicans have outsmarted you and Democrats for next half a century by filling court positions throughout the country. By hook or crook the majority has become minority and in future these decisions will keep white in power and privileged.
Minorities today who will become majority in future will become increasingly poorer driven to hardships by the laws and decisions passed by courts filled by Republicans rightwingers today.
Writing is on the wall. Talk about hijacking Democracy.
2
This is very bizarre. Politically, it is most counter-productive, since these are countries where the United States, China and Russia are vying for influence and profit. It's almost as though Trump is helping Russia and China expand their power. At a human level, it also makes no sense, since these countries, despite internal conflicts, have not produced terrorists attacking the US. On the other hand, America's supposed allies Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan have produced them in quantity.
346
@czarnajama I'm curious, how many of these folks are influenced enough by China and Russia to consider immigrating there?
8
Trump is not the brightest bulb. I think Vlad has so so much on him that Donald will do anything. Today, brexit was ratified, fully supported by our so-called president. This move weakens the EU, which has been a crucial ally to the US since WW2. Vlad is happy!
24
@czarnajama Part of his China Trade Agreement to help them and Russia - well he's been helping them since before taking office, only to ramp it up since in office - behind our backs in front of our faces!! Disgracefull! @czarnajama Part of his China Trade Agreement to help them and Russia - well he's been helping them since before taking office, only to ramp it up since in office - behind our backs in front of our faces!! Disgracefull!
6
When you give Trump an inch, he takes a mile. The Supreme Court bought Trump’s lame excuses for the Muslim bam, and now he feels free to ban anyone who isn’t white enough and Christian enough for him. Where will it end? How many more countries will be added to this discriminatory hate-list?
224
How many ya got?
Do the math in reverse: how many countries have a real estate development paying money to the Trump Organization? How many where one is pending? How many are home to Trump creditors?
1
And so it begins........
A truly sad day for the United States as we knew it. This president now feels especially emboldened to enact his heinous policies, knowing there is no way the Senate will convict him.
312
@Ruth What are we going to do about it! If I knew that simply casing my vote next November would help, that would be one thing. However, I can't count on that! Help me help my own country!
2
I taught in Kyrgyzstan for a summer many years ago, in 1993. What I saw there was only a fraction of life in the country--but it was clear then, and I believe it is true still, that many Kyrgyz, especially in the capital, Bishkek, had a moderate, modern approach to Islam; in addition, they yearned for contact with the West. Granted, there has been unrest and violence in the south of the country--and, at specific times, riots in Bishkek itself--but many have been working for decades toward a democratic, open government and culture. Restricting travel to the U.S. will hurt those efforts more than we can estimate right now.
36
Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter warned that if Americans were to become an authoritarian state, it would be because of our civic ignorance. What he meant was, because of our ignorance of how our own government functions, people would easily fall for a demagogue who promised easy but false solutions to the country's problems.
What he did not predict is that the very court he sat on would actually help the process along. The first round of travel bans were upheld by the Supreme Court because the court refused to consider Trump's very public statements regarding the purpose of the ban as a Muslim ban. The court, essentially, pretended to be deaf and blind, and abdicated its function as a check and balance on the executive branch. The Senate, as we see, is also prepared to be deaf and blind as well. In this case, to evidence from a former member of Trump's own cabinet that Trump abused his power.
It turns out it's not just the the poorly-informed masses that will choose the tyrant, but also some very well-informed, Ivy League-educated people in high places.
84
Saudi Arabia is not on the list. That's interesting. Saudi Arabia, who exports to our shores both most of the 9-11 hijackers and Wahhabism, which advocates violent jihad. But then again, Saudis buy Trump penthouses.
152
@Ellen S I wouldn't even classify the Saudi's as a frenemy anymore. Half the country is violently hostile to the US. Saudi leadership claims to be our friends while members of it's military are shooting their US instructors on US soil, it's religious leaders continue to teach and inspire extremists and terrorists and the people continue to accept it all. It's clear as day the only reason the Saudi's always get a pass is because of their strategic importance but at what point are they a bigger threat than they are a stabilizing factor? When they commit genocide? Finance global terrorists or work against well intentioned liberalization policies? When they stir up sectarian violence? Our leaders need to wake up to the reality of Saudi Arabia and start treating them more like the problem child they are instead of helping them to white wash how awful the Saudi government really is.
2
@Ellen S - As long as he gains personally from any endeavour, anything goes! Trump gains, America loses....especially the dignity of the country as global respect for America circles the drain.
1
Every day, Trump gives us a reason to throw him out. So.....let's do it. If he wins a second term, we'll only have ourselves to blame.
50
I'm so angry I can barely speak, and this doesn't even touch on me, my friends, and my family.
I'm ashamed even if the president isn't.
56
Trump has risked strategic U.S. interests just to bar a few thousand refugees after the Supreme Court green-lighted his attempts to twist our immigration and refugee policies to his and his followers' worst prejudices.
What will happen after next week, when the disgraceful Senate Republicans give him a carte blanche to violate laws and the U.S. Constitution with impunity?
38
As an outsider, I am amazed at the stark divide of the American people. There is almost a celebration of sorts and President 2020 slogans in the right-wing media (read Fox News) and moderate disapproval of these visa restrictions in the mainstream media. Why? Perhaps the main reason as I see is that the views of the "southerners" (majority right leaning) are 'colored' by civil war perceptions of "northerners". In other words, the distrust is deep-rooted and racial. Ironically, the right-leaning Americans claim to be real Christians who are supposed to be compassionate to all as exemplified by Jesus Christ. I am surprised that the conservatives follow Christ, who is an Asian/Middle Eastern and not white, therefore unworthy of respect if you go by their logic. You are not truly compassionate or you cannot claim to be "greatest country in the world" if your love is not color-blind, i.e. limited to people of a certain race or those countries inhabited by that race. If Christ was a refugee they would have probably rejected Him. I believe that immigration of people from poor or less-fortunate countries is good for the USA and its people in the long run, and of course for the immigrants. First, Americans, especially those who hate people of color, would eventually deeply imbibe the concept of universal kinship. Second, immigrants are very motivated, which is good for the economy. For immigrants, it offers the greatest possibility to better their lives and their adopted country.
39
Kyrgyzstan is a country rife with terrorists? There are currently 104 American Peace Corps volunteers there. There was a US military base there recently. Is there an internal problem with corruption? Yes, but not one that is different from any other country in the region.
27
So sick of this.
One of my college roommates was from Nigeria. She literally saved my life when a crazy person attacked me with the intention of killing me.
Where I live, outside D.C., there are thousands of people from Nigeria. All whom I've met are good, hardworking family people trying to get ahead in America.
We're lucky to have them.
118
So our macho show of toughness against terrorism is demanding that we not provide a home for refugees fleeing terror? This presidency is so xenophobic, awful and disheartening.
Vote Blue No Matter What.
62
Not to mention the fact that most of the foreign terrorist who have succeeded at attacking our country and civilians (not to mention military bases, including recently) have Saudi Arabian. But Trump, who made his first international trip as POTUS to Saudi Arabia and was photographed bowing to the Saudi royalty, resonates with the gaudy taste of the Saudi royal family and their brutal, monarchical rule, so guess who remains off the list of banned nations, despite having the “purest” Muslim population in the world (and one that denies citizenship to non-Muslims)?
3
Racism as foreign policy.
Thank you tRump and the republican party.
55
Blatant racism of course, but let’s get some articles explaining why Republican senators - while disapproving - feel they must support this, for the good of something or other.
25
No surprises there. None of these countries are white. The USA is now officially a white nationalist country.
52
I'm ashamed to call myself an American.
1
There's an argument to be made for more checks, but why lie about it? It shows the Trump administration's contempt for the American people and its disregard for the laws, which do not permit harrassment of American citizens.
A mass roundup, which is what this appears to be, is the device of a police state. Perhaps AG Barr should appoint another Special Counsel to investigate this particular instance of federal law enforcement over-reach.
7
America is now a radical authoritarian white nationalist regime.
49
I hope the Brexiteers think ditching Europe and then being ditched by Scotland is a good move.
12
Do I understand properly? Trump wants pale white, blond haired, blue eyed Norwegians to relocate to the US. But, anyone with brown or black skin isn't welcome?
46
@Don
Why would they? Their country rates better than ours. I wish I were younger and could move there actually. The progressives want what Norway has.
After I Lived in Norway, America Felt Backward. Here’s Why. - A crash course in social democracy.
By Ann Jones - January 28, 2016
1
I was in Tanzania several years ago on a safari and all indications were that it is an extraordinarily peaceful and civil nation. I cannot see a justification for this.
49
Stephen Miller is a white nationalist and should be forced out of the administration.
Stephen Miller is a white nationalist and should be publicly shamed.
This policy is Anti-American.
54
Dear Mr. Trump: How is the wall on our southern border working out for you. Just heard that drug dealers had the longest tunnel ever......under the wall from Tijuana to San Diego. The wall ran for almost a mile and had electricity and tracks. So much for your idea that a wall would work.
22
A new section of the wall blew over in high winds the other day. Luckily, it didn’t go all the way over so nobody was squashed by the tumbling monstrosity.
2
Let us hope this bigoted man will be fired from his job in 10 more months and not 4 years and 10 months.
35
@Plato - Sadly, ordinary citizens have no voice, in fact I have to wonder why the Electoral College, an outdated relic of a far different era, continues to make decisions for Americans. If it's still stacked with Republicans, even a huge popular vote for the Democratic candidate will be meaningless. While the electorate may try to 'fire' Trump, the EC rules.
As a Canadian outsider, I would really like to know why America burns through millions - if not billions - of taxpayer dollars holding sham elections for president when the vote means nothing to partisan puppets in the College.
1
Why are we still pretending this is not a Muslim ban?
27
Few Muslims in Myanmar, although this paper has reported infiltration of the Rohinga by ISIS and their ilk.
5
Hate is such a horrible feeling. I hate trump.
30
This white American of Irish extraction cannot wait until the racist ignoramus, Trump, is out of office. He is a disgrace and very dangerous,
27
I don't know why anyone would want to travel to the US! It's a disgrace!
27
The King is at it again. Now emboldened by his eventual acquittance of impeachment, the King shows his power in the world by denying a chance of those less fortunate to have a better life.
17
All the countries covered by the new travel ban have large Muslim populations; a majority of the people living in Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan and Tanzania are black, and a majority of Myanmar’s people are Buddhist, as in Not Christian. Gasp!
Donald Trump is keeping America safe from colored people, Muslims (Because they’re all terrorists: even the Muslims murdered by terrorists are terrorists) and godless pagans.
The trick to the security qualifications mentioned in the article is Trump’s administration tailors the qualifications so that the targeted countries cannot possibly meet them, when they fail the administration bans travel citing national security concerns, and to justify the ban the administration piously asserts that the targeted countries do not meet the impossible qualifications.
Must be an election year, because Mr Trump is abusing the power of his office for personal gain by pandering to his political base.
He’s also promoting China and Russia’s efforts to expand their influence in Africa.
18
The travel ban is terrible for all the many and obvious reasons. But it seems especially poorly thought out in its inclusion of Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and most populous country with immigrants that are some of the most educated and successful in the West — not just the U.S. I guess the Trump administration has decided that this emerging economy is better off being influenced by China, who have been doing a much better job of preparing for the future of the global south’s emerging economies than the U.S. Nigerians are some of the most resourceful people on earth — this will not phase their spirits in the long-run. But it does demonstrate that U.S. foreign policy is going to adversely affect American interests. And all for what? Prejudice and playing to the Trump base. Pathetic.
33
You’re ignoring the north of Nigeria, rife with Islamists who are terrorizing the south of Nigeria.
11
This is blatant misinformation. While there is a delicate balance in keeping the north and south peaceful and united, most of the victims of terrorism in Nigeria, are like the perpetrators, from the north. There is indeed some violence against Christians and that must be addressed in the north but the south is largely peaceful and not “terrorized” by the north. Moreover, most Nigerians who end up in the U.S. are from the south of the country, so again, what purpose does the ban serve other than prejudice?
2
They don’t come here though. I have met only one Nigerian Hausa in this country. Most are from the Christian south. I would love to understand why Nigeria was singled out among the West African countries. Could it be because Nigerian Americans are helping to expand black power, money and resources in this country like never before and gaining a stronger influence on the culture of this country (music, food, dress) and someone in his administration wants to curb that? Or is it because Nigerian immigrants are more likely to overstay their visas, which is a legit problem? Cause it is not because of the Northern Nigerian boogie man. He has no interest in coming here and often doesn’t have the means anyway. This whole thing shows a strong lack of understanding of Nigerian people.
1
I remember the first time he enacted the Muslim Ban: there were protests at airports and in public spaces throughout NYC and other major cities. The outrage went on for days and weeks. Now...nothing. It's a perfect case study of how his rampant xenophobia and racism has been so normalized by our society. A sad day.
44
@Brian
Protests don't achieve the goal. Organize and change leadership. Protestors have no power. It's totally dependent upon the morality of the leadership to respond and ours has none.
So change the leadership at all levels.
1
The sad part is that 43% of the voting public support such discriminatory policies. The really sad part is that every Republican in Congress support these as well. One could say that the US has lost its leadership role in the world, which is true but that happend on the 20th of January, 2017.
28
A truly puzzling decision against US interests, clearly giving advantage to our adversaries. I believe Trump is a clear and present danger to the USA. Please everyone vote him out this fall. Is Biden our guy or what? Let’s get it together.
16
The most important country we should ban is Saudi Arabia, including its “royalty.” Follow that with UAE.
Unless we block citizens of these countries, it’s clear to me that it’s just political.
39
One person who got almost 3 million fewer votes than his opponent should not have the power to impose his whims on potentially thousands of people who could become contributing members of American society. One solution is to remove the Electoral College from our system, and become a true democracy. The other solution is for Congress to take back some of its constitutionally-mandated powers, which it has ceded to the president over the years. But as we saw from the cowardly vote to not call witnesses in the impeachment trial today, that won't happen until Democrats take back control of the Senate. People in swing states, such as possibly now Texas, please work to unseat your incumbent Republican senators.
20
Please don't put America through what happened in Europe. Lacking proper security measures, countries like Belgium and Germany are on constant terror alert. The modern immigrants haven't assimilated to their adopted countries and instead have created "banlieues" and no-go areas with high crime and poverty. I should note that women and feminists in particular should be extremely concerned about immigration from those countries given their mistreatment of women.
31
@Eugene See, I knew all the time he banned them because of the way they treat women.
13
@Eugene: Belarus was going to be on the list but was dropped because they "tightened up their controls."
But Belarus is 1) basically all white 2) basically all christian 3) a virtual political satellite of Russia, and 4) one of the more macho and misogynistic countries out there.
Remember that roomful of old guys laughing about how Pompeo "handled" Mary-Louise Kelly? And you're going to tell me that they are worried about *importing* that attitude?
1
Why is Saudi Arabia, the source of terrorists old (911) and new (Pensacola) *not* in the list?
Without Saudi in the list, the ban is clearly a racist joke, meat for Trump's base.
That the Supreme Court upheld that ridiculous older ban (will they uphold this sorry joke again?) simply debased the Court, and robbed legitimacy out of it.
59
Safe? You have to travel to full-out war zones to find countries where the citizens are mowing people down more often and in larger numbers than here.
33
The title of this article is misleading. This isn’t a travel ban, in fact people from Nigeria and the countries on this list are still eligible for travel visas to America and potentially overstay their visas. It’s an immigration ban. It bans them from applying for work visas and permanent residency. It bans the population that are ironically least likely to commit crimes or over stay.
32
I pretty sure I’ve read more than once that Nigerian immigrants are Among the most highly educated immigrants who come to this country. Gee, we wouldn’t want that. Also, I had a exchange student from Kyrgyzstan a couple of years ago. She was delightful. I gave her and another student guest tickets to the San Diego Wild Animal Park and when she came back , she couldn’t stop talking about about the animals (especially the giraffes) and decided then and there that it was her dream to move to America. What a loss for us. Ironically, she wasn’t Muslim.
43
Trump doesn’t want smart citizens. They wouldn’t vote for him.
40
Yet, they are among the most likely to overstay. Interesting, and those are not the most educated ones.
3
"All six countries have substantial Muslim populations."
Once a Muslim Ban. always a Muslim Ban. And they're dark skinned muslims so it's a twofer. So racism, check.
Will the media please change it's tome completely about Trump for the remainder of the election.
He does not give us anything at all to respect him for.
He destroys all our traditions and elevates the worst prejudices.
Call him out over and over, because if he gets reelected. He's already made it clear the Media is very much in his cross hairs.
Stop running "conservative" op-eds and articles to please your conservative readers. They need to be convinced of the truth in front of their noses not have their consciences massaged.
26
And only give him face time if he's engaged in something absolutely newsworthy. If it's just his being mean or stupid or attention-seeking, tell us about him. Don’t show him. Give him NO free air-time or photos. Just tell us and don’t go out of your way to try and make him sound presidential—tell us the horrid truth. He's not presidential, honest, or ethical and we ALL know it.
9
When I read the headline and saw that Nigeria was among the countries added to the travel ban I thought that will solve some of the issue of the practice at the Canada border of illegal entry into the country from the US by asylum seekers. Nigerians are the largest group going this route. They enter the US on a visitors visa and head up to Roxham Road at the border or some other non official crossing, the main reason for seeking protection is persecution in the home country because they are bi-sexual, married on not this script is what is repeated to immigration officials. I am wondering if a visitors visa or tourist visa will still be issued to Nigerians?
10
While we are alienating so many countries in Africa, Russia and China will be advancing their influences there. Remember that Trump wanted to destroy everything. . . lessons he learned from Stephen Bannon. He seems to have succeeded beyond expectations.
24
Kyrgyzstan!! One of the most peaceful and picturesque country I’ve been too. Luckily Kyrgyz people are too content and happy to ever think of coming here. Why don’t we just ban all non-white non Judo-Christian countries.
21
In the case of Kyrgyzstan, the article says that their passport control processes and information sharing systems have been outdated for years and the ban is a result of that.
7
It’s possible they’re just trying to appease the Chinese as Kyrgyzstan borders China’s “problem areas”.
Which immigrant group has had the most success over the past 40 years? Hint: It's not Norwegians. Nigerian immigrants have immeasurably enriched my city, Milwaukee and many many others. Ditto to other countries in the list. The states and cities with high rates of immigration generally do better than those who don't.
And if people want the economy to keep growing, we need immigrants and lots of them. Immigrants create businesses. They tend to be younger: meaning more years of employment paying for social security and taxes. So sick of these dumb nativists hurting the country.
38
Hmm! Saudi Arabia is still not on the list. I wonder why, since most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis and most Islamic terrorism is still Wahhabi-inspired.
64
Exactly. And they were here legally, taking flying lessons.
20
@Christy
If you're serious, write
U S Dept of State, Washington D C 20520
5
With the exception of Tanzania, all the countries have a large population of Muslims.
6
My guess is President Trump can’t even identify these countries on a map, probably not even the entire continent of Africa
24
Why not ban Saudi Arabia that recently had one of its air force officers commit terrorism/murder at the US Navy base in Pensacola, and also supplied 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists?
601
And also murdered the WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
63
Because they have lots of money.
4
It's time for everyone to realize this sad fact: the door to the United States is closed to people of color. Seek help elsewhere.
15
It's all good.
Believe me.
1
America should ban immigrants from the Czech Republic, Egypt, India, Israel, Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, the Gulf Arab States and the Vatican.
12
And wherever your house is located.
11
Republicans must be awfully proud of their country and its leader heading toward that shining city on the hill.
4
Gee, no Saudi Arabia. What a surprise!
36
100% racist move. We can undo this with the election. Vote Dem.
28
Tell me again what country the terrorists were from? And tell me from what country the murderers of over 14,000 Americans last year were from?
22
I support a travel ban from these countries and policies that would cut immigration from them to zero, except for truly exceptional circumstances.
I know that would probably subject me to hate mail from NY Times readers, but I'm not giving you my mail address.
The problem is that virtually all of these countries have population growth rates that are out of control, in the 2-3% per annum growth range.
This makes poverty inevitable. And it is impossible to alleviate that poverty through immigration to the US.
Trying to solve poverty via immigration to the US is like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon.
However, we should not be neglecting these countries. We should be doing everything possible to help them get population growth under control.
That means access to family planning, even access to safe abortions when desired.
Yes, we need to work with the local customs, respect the various religions.
But the population of Africa is projected to double by 2050.
The slums which already exist in Nigeria and Sudan will become even worse.
And as the earth warms, some regions in Central and South Africa will become uninhabitable.
Helping Africa get its population growth under control NOW may avert streams of millions of refugees as the climate in Africa worsens.
We need a plan. And its not open borders in the US. It must include thoughtful support to get population growth under control and help the poor nations improve living standards.
41
I am a left of center person, agree with your position. Unfortunately nothing 'thoughtful' will ever come from Trump and his minions.
8
Other countries of Spanish origin are not on his list, but he makes it almost impossible for legal immigration to be completed even after the applicant has been approved by Homeland Security. An application forwarded to the State Department for processing before it is forwarded to the US Embassy of the country of the applicant for processing is played with like a cat with a mouse in most insulting ways, broken computer systems with no knowledge of when it will be fixed, waiting months before they let the applicant know that they have rejected his application for some technical problem he could have fixed. This is even when the applicant is an educated professional who speaks English, would be self supporting and has US health insurance. They will take your money for processing quickly.
1
Nigeria is a potentially super rich country
but aren't there American Oil and Gas companies involved in Nigeria ..??
65
Glad students are not part of the travel ban
2
The GOP got tired of holding their ears and eyes shut. Now they have to hold their noses shut as well.
Helen Keller could have been a good republican senator this week.
But, unfortunately she did not have a choice, 51 GOP senators did have the choice to listen, see and even smell the evidence. Only to decide it is better not to know.
For those GOP senators keep your mouths shut as well.
4
The hypocritical President will not add Saudi Arabian citizens who are the ones who killed 3000 plus Americans and counting as another killed three in Florida this Fall.
Thanks for protecting America, Mr. President.
And we lost a few more in Afghanistan where the Taliban control more than 80% of the country. Thanks for fulfilling that campaign promise to pulling out of endless wars, Mr. President. Gee. No Trump Tower in Kabul to bargain?
13
In December our friends immigrated from Myanmar. They barely made it apparently. They will be assets to their community and to this country. Shame on Trump.
13
VOTE. That is the only solution now. It’s now up to we the people..
9
I grew up in Tanzania (Dar es Salaam)
Trump continues to amaze me with his hate (and fear). Let's hope he doesn't last much longer.
252
@ConcernedCACitizen Yes, it did. Hate against our first African American president. And the hate continues.
35
@James Thurber
Why do you believe that this is based on hate and fear rather than data?
A rational system would look at the rate of visa overstays, visa and immigration fraud, public dependency, arrests, by country and then restrict entry by people from countries with higher rates of undesirable outcomes by previous entrants. It would also look at the ability to ascertain the identity and background of entrants. Do you know where Tanzania ranks on such a list?
3
@KBronson
I have a data point for you: the only act of terrorism on US soil in 2019 was committed by a Saudi citizen. Was Saudi Arabia on the hit list ? I don’t think so. Instead you opine that all Tanzanians should be punished if some of their fellow country men overstayed their visas. I see.
10
If you weren’t convinced Trump was a racist before...does this provide enough evidence for you?
Now that he’s in the process of being acquitted, he’s essentially become an emperor and will do any thing he wants until he’s deposed, hopefully at the time of the election.
60
....That is if some foreign power does not interfere to get him illegally re-elected. We may have to face another 4 years of this....
11
President Trump's policy against these countries with Muslim populations is racist and Islamophobic. At a time when there is a genocide in Myanmar, we as Americans should not remain silent. We must help these poor chaps. We are a nation of immigrants. Even President Trump's grandfather and wife are immigrants.
192
@Jacob Avi Cohen
We are not a nation of immigrants. We are the national homeland of Americans that has been more or less welcoming to immigrants—sometimes.
The Americans formed this homeland, having evolved a new identity as Americans rather than as colonists which there ancestors were. Should we call ourselves a “nation of colonists” and welcome colonization? Of course not!
We became a nation to set our own course and that means exercising discretion about whom to invite to join us.
21
@Jacob Avi Cohen
We are not a nation of immigrants. We are the national homeland of Americans that has been more or less welcoming to immigrants—sometimes.
2
@KBronson Oh come on. Just who is "we" exactly?
9
Does anyone at all remember that the original "ban" was meant to be a 90-day temporary situation while they reviewed immigration/vetting policies?
Cause the administration sure seems to have forgotten that.
227
@Delta Don't you all get it, he initially put that 90 day ban out there to begin to push the envelope. That envelope is now WAY down the line and he will now ramp it up in full force - behind our backs, in front of our faces!!! We're done! I don't mean to say we stop putting a light on these wrong doings, but you can expect much more disgusting things to come from this President! And erode our values....
21
@Delta ~
Yep. Very much so.
But Trump plays to his voter base by tossing "refugees" into the same barrel as raping and murderous illegals.
Under Presidents for decades, we have welcomed millions of refugees, usually chosen from countries we have decimated.
People who went through 18 - 24 months of vetting, and when they arrived here were taking under the care of private organizations, not solely the government.
But yeah, that's way too risky and expensive. Let's just have corporations pay zero taxes, since that will help balance our budget.
1
@Delta
Wasn't there a whole group of politicians that called them out as being xenophobic closed border bigots? They sure seem to be spot on.
I'm afraid there will be no stopping Trump now. The Senate just gave him a free pass to do whatever he wants. And the Supreme Court is backing him up. This country never wanted a king or dictator, but I fear we may be on our way. Can anyone guarantee our November election will be fair?
48
Nope. Facebook and Twitter control truth, the vile-GOP Senate and stolen Court control law, and the loser controls the football and borders (good luck escaping!). The revolution will NOT be televised—we won't manage one. (Also because the Fairness Doctrine is long dead.)
We'll resist; we must. But we're done. gg. At least he'll serve his famous Steaks® with the bread and circuses.
8
@SR
Have a pound of steak and three pints of ale every day and stop worrying.
The country has been over and done many times already in the last 230 years.
4
I only see four women in the picture accompanying this article, but the number of men shown is three times more. Why is that? This seems to be the general rule for people claiming asylum in America. Where are the wives and children of these men?
15
So assume Trump wins again in 2020. House will likely remain Democratic. Senate could go D too but Trump wins due to EC. What is next?
I know some people will freak out about this outcome and be sad but think back to 2004.
This nightmare will end. Trump has talked about a third term, etc. but it won't work. It is true a good number of his supporters seem to be against Representative Democracy but if 40% of the country truly give up on what we have, everyone of the 100% deserves what happens. We've allowed a situation where 40% of the country thinks it is okay to blow up the whole thing, which means a failure in education and compassion of one party of the other.
11
I’m waiting to see when other governments start banning Americans from entering their countries.
Anybody paying attention to what is happening here has to think we’re all inflicted with a terrible disease.
Or maybe just too stupid.
118
@Steve Ell
With the UK out of the EU it's possible they could move to a more aggressive stance with us depending on Trumps actions.
Did Pompeo ask Trump if he could identify Kyrgyzstan on a map with no names before they put this ban into effect?
Heck, I’d be amazed if Trump could identify any of those countries on an un-named map. I’d even settle for asking him to identify France on an un-named. Who wants to bet he points at Spain or the UK?
98
@Austin Ouellette
You know what? Now that I think about it, I’d be amazed if Trump could identify those countries on a map that had names on it. I’d really like to have some tangible proof that Trump can read English. Because I’m not entirely convinced he can.
35
Why do they have maps without names in the white house? Pop quiz? Coloring? Is the kids menu on the back?
23
Guess what, America? Laws have no meaning. It’s dictator rule. So just remember: laws in America have no meaning. We have no valid Constitution. No law. Anything goes.
30
Please will the new visa ban affect visa applications that has been filled prior to the new ban?
6
Visas already issued are valid. Supposedly students who are accepted into a college or university will still be granted a visa for study only. That said, I know of Nigerians who have had difficulty getting their visas in time for the start of the semester-and that was not due to any mistake on their part. It was held up by the consulate.
1
Since Saudi Arabia is not on this list, reasons are totally invalid. But now, it doesn’t matter. Republicans have destroyed this country. I am afraid it may never recover.
67
“It would be quite unfortunate if for any reason Nigeria were on the list,” Mr. Mohammed said, noting the two government’s cooperation in combating terrorism. “It would be a double jeopardy: The country has committed a lot of resources to fight terrorism. Any travel ban cannot but be inimical to the growth of the country.”
First of all, Trump doesn't understand words like unfortunate and inimical. He does understand double jeopardy, "That's a TV show, right."
28
I'm will start by saying I am vehemently opposed to any travel ban. Having said that, if you're going to have one that is ostensibly based on safety concerns, I don't see how anyone could justify keeping Saudi Arabia off it. Saudis have been responsible for more civilian deaths - and more recently - than all of these other countries combined.
Crazy thought, but bear with me. I think the goal of this ban might just be to block brown-skinned refugees instead of keeping Americans safe.
104
@Greg Safe? Over 14,000 Americans were victims of homicide last year.Not a peep from our government about that!
16
@Greg
Their wealthy leadership needs to stay in more Trump hotels and donate to his campaigns through illicit means and super pacs.
Why not Saudi Arabia?!! They financed, with flesh and money, 9/11. They extradite their nationals back home after committing horrendous crimes here.
94
He has just kicked off from the starting block. And our intentionally weakened educational system (Critical thinking is Unamerican, Slavery wasn't that bad, Religion means only one of them, etc. etc.) there aren't enough people who even understand what just happened to object. Or care.
90
@jumblegym
I talk to republicans face to face rarely. The ones that do care know something is wrong but they have massive cognitive dissonance. This is because the news they go to normally is lying to them. And the facts don't line up so they just throw up their hands and say everyone is lying.
We have a media cancer in our society and we continue to ignore it while it directly assaults the 1st amendment and tries to destroy the purpose of holding authority in check. It's being used to do the opposite and install tyranny.
So the very institution that is supposed to inform us with facts and act with integrity is now a tool of tyranny.
Seems all Trump has war with of late, are people of color .
We have to elect Democrats this year and thenext to have the majority in congress ,end of story.
50
Well, there’s no stopping King Trump now, is there?
28
another example of anti-Africanness and anti-Black racism, ... white nationalists are celebrating Stephen Miller and 45th!
24
@xyz Waiting for the Obama birth certificate routine to start up again.
10
How interesting, to use a euphemism. But, then, we are now informed that the President of the United States can do no wrong, can commit no crime, can never be questioned about his "motives" for any action. I note no action was taken against the centers of contagion of disease, only -- with the single exception of Kyrgyzstan (which I doubt Trump even knows where it is on the blank map test ) -- nations of color. What a farce.
77
Russia's internet troll farms have done more damage to the US in the past 4 years or so than all these travel-banned countries combined.
This is just more evidence of Trump's (lack of) character and bigotry.
179
Goodnight, USA.
Witnesses.
Nay: 51 - Yay: 49
Let the dictatorship begin...Now, he can truly "do whatever he wants." As evidenced here.
219
@Greg, next term limits for Presidents will go by the wayside. After all, all of this is in the best interest of the citizenry. Unfortunately I think this country is going down very quickly.
15
We'll take them up here... we currently have two African players and a G.M. for the Raptors with championship rings.
28
Haven't heard from Stephen Miller for awhile.
I guess he's still hard at work, though.
78
@GP He's one of the tweeters.
2
Another sad chapter, but just another day at the office for Trump and his corrupt and xenophobic administration. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans just prevailed in a shameful vote to block witnesses in the impeachment trial. I sincerely hope enough people wake up by November to realize how far we've fallen, and exercise their right and privilege as an American at the ballot box to take back our country and get it back on course to the right side of history.
189
@Steve TI will exercise my right and privilege as an American at the ballot box to ensure you "take it back" only in your dreams.
10
@John D - It's not about taking it back, it's simply about accountability. We can disagree on whether or not Mr. Trump did anything meriting removal from office, but why not allow witnesses? If the witnesses have nothing of matter to say, and Mr. Trump is innocent, why not allow the witnesses to speak?
23
@John D
Together with @Steve, we will exercise our rights come November 2020 to ensure we take the country back in reality, and change the laws to ensure the likes of trump and his supporters like you will never again run rampant in this country - except in your dreams.
17
"A United States government official said the administration was adding Nigeria and Tanzania to the list because of the number of people who come from the African countries on a visa and end up illegally staying in the United States." It's worth noting that this travel ban, as I understand it, only affects immigrant visas. If that's true, anyone who wishes to come to the US and illegally overstay their visa could still attain a nonimmigrant visa (B-1/B-2, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-3, etc.). The official's justification simply doesn't work.
57
didn't Trump say the ban was going to last a few months until they could determine "extreme-vetting procedures"? It's almost as if the goal is just to stop brown people from entering the country.
107
@Richard "Almost?" Stopping brown people from entering the US is a goal of the Trump administration, and his worshipers love it.
30
@Richard Almost?
6
@Richard
Another desperate attempt by Trump and his deplorable supporters to change the demographics of this country; to Make It White Again. Sorry deplorables once change starts you can't stop it.
14