Trump faces tide of criticism, protests, legal challenges over travel bans

[webfact]

Trump faces tide of criticism, protests, legal challenges over travel bans

By Doina Chiacu and Steve Holland

 

Demonstrators spell out "# No Muslim Ban" during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder - RTSXY8H

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump fought back on Sunday amid growing international criticism, outrage from civil rights activists and legal challenges over his abrupt order for a halt on arrivals of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

 

He and senior aides defended the policy and one administration official said Friday's order could be expanded to include more countries, even as border and customs officials struggled to put it into practice. Confusion persisted over details of implementation, in particular for green card holders who are legal residents of the United States.

 

In his most sweeping action since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump, a Republican, put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

 

In a Twitter message on Sunday, Trump said the country needed "strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW."

 

"Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!" added Trump, who successfully tapped Americans' fear of attacks during his election campaign and has presented the policy as a way to protect the country from the threat of Islamist militants.

 

His comment could fuel charges that the new policy singles out Muslims as it did not take into account the fact that the militant Islamic State group has targeted not just minorities in Syria and Iraq, but both Shiite and Sunni Muslims in areas under its rule.

 

Protests erupted for a second day in several U.S. cities and airports.

 

"I think banning refugees, banning immigrants, banning religions like Islam or any other religion, is un-American," said Will Turner, 42, draped in a U.S. flag and among a crowd of several thousand people in front of the White House chanting "no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here."

 

Critics at home and abroad slammed Trump's order as a slap to America's spirit, potentially counter-productive in fighting militant Islamism and confused in its execution.

 

The policy appeared to be evolving on the fly.

 

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the order "doesn't affect green card holders moving forward." However, he added that such people would be subjected to extra questioning by Customs and Border Patrol agents when they tried to re-enter the United States.

 

A senior administration official said green card holders will be subject to a rescreening but it had not been determined where and how those screenings would be carried out. Specific guidelines were being put together, the official said, adding "they could be screened in many different ways and in many different places."

 

Chuck Schumer, the senior Democrat in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate, seized on the mixed messages from the administration.

 

Schumer said he had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to express his concerns about the order and Kelly had told him that the executive order would not affect legal permanent residents.

 

"We need clarification. But it shows you, above the bad nature, the horrible nature of these (orders), the incompetence of this administration,” Schumer told a news conference.

 

Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians have promised to fight Trump's order and Schumer said his party would introduce legislation to overturn it.

 

Republicans control both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but several senior Republicans voiced concern.

Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham said in a statement that "we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism."

 

Priebus said that of 325,000 people who arrived from foreign countries on Saturday, 109 people were detained for further questioning, and most of them were moved out, with just a "couple dozen more that remain" detained.

 

"It wasn't chaos," he said, adding of the order, "maybe we can expand the countries.”

 

COURT ORDERS

 

A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve late on Saturday evening. The American Civil Liberties Union, representing two Iraqis caught by the order as they flew into the country, successfully argued for a temporary stay that prevented travellers denied entry to the United States from being deported.

 

Federal judges in three states followed that in orders issued late on Saturday or early on Sunday, barring authorities from deporting affected travellers. Separately, Democratic attorneys general from California and New York were among states discussing whether to legally challenge the order, according to officials.

 

Immigration and civil rights attorneys and advocates said officials at several airports were not complying with federal court orders, including the judge’s stay.

 

“This is simply unacceptable. All agents should comply with this order immediately,” said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Centre, during a conference call with reporters on Sunday.

 

For example, at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, an Iranian Fulbright scholar was ordered to board a Ukraine-bound flight just before midnight, said Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project.

 

It was not until intervention through a legal clinic at Yale University and calls to an assistant U.S. attorney that the plane was brought back to the gate. It was not clear whether the woman was still detained.

 

Some airports have released those in detention but others, including in San Francisco and Los Angeles, have not, Heller said.

“It’s really clear there is really no method to this madness.”

 

'GENERAL SUSPICION'

 

Condemnation of the order poured in from abroad, including from traditional allies of the United States.

 

In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion", her spokesman said on Sunday.

 

Trump, who had promised what he called "extreme vetting" of immigrants and refugees from areas the White House said the U.S. Congress deemed to be high risk, said on Saturday that his order was "not a Muslim ban," adding the measures were working out "very nicely."

 

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late on Saturday that about 375 travellers had been affected by the order, 109 of whom were in transit and were denied entry to the United States. Another 173 were stopped by airlines before boarding.

 

One of those detained was a Sudanese man with a green card who was released at around noon Sunday after being held by federal authorities at JFK airport in New York, the man's son said.

 

Mohamed Suliman, 37, a British citizen, told Reuters that he had travelled from Britain to Sudan, and accompanied the older man back to the United States. He said he was detained for about an hour upon arrival, but his father, Yassin Abdelrahm, 76, was held for 16 hours.

 

A small crowd of people at the airport's international Terminal 4 erupted into applause as they watched Suliman vigorously embrace his father.

 

TRACK STAR FARAH

 

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the administration was working to make sure its allies understood the purpose of the order, which affects Iraq, whose citizens and military work side by side with U.S. forces against Islamic State.

 

The new rules upended plans that had been long in the making for some people, such as Iraqi Fuad Sharef and his family. They waited two years for a visa to settle in the United States, selling their home and quitting jobs and schools in Iraq before setting off on Saturday for a new life they saw as a reward for working with U.S. organizations.

 

Sharef, his wife and three children were prevented from boarding their connecting flight to New York from Cairo on Saturday, detained overnight at Cairo airport and forced to board a flight back to the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Sunday morning.

 

"We were treated like drug dealers, escorted by deportation officers," Sharef told Reuters by telephone from Cairo airport.

 

Britain's most successful track athlete, Olympic champion Mo Farah, slammed the policy in a statement, contrasting being honoured with a knighthood by Britain this month and now being made into what he called an "alien" by Trump. Farah was born in Somalia, came to Britain as a child and who currently lives with his wife and children in Oregon.

 

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Susan Cornwell, Steve Holland, Yara Bayoumy, Lesley Wroughton, Nathan Frandino in Washington; Dan Levine in San Francisco; Mica Rosenberg, Jonathan Allen, Melissa Fares, Daniel Trotta, Andrew Chung, Chris Francescani and David Ingram in New York; Andrea Hopkins, Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Andrea Shalal and Andreas Rilke in Berlin, Paul Sandle in London; Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Arwa Gaballa, Eric Knecht in Cairo, and Michael Georgy in Erbil; Writing by Frances Kerry; Editing by Mary Milliken)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-30

[oxo1947]

To-days UK papers are reporting that Iraq in retaliation, may ban any American holiday makers coming there--- It would be shattering news for those Americans that already had their Beach towels packed...........

[WaywardWind]

One way to end it in a hurry:

 

Canada, Australia, the UK, and any other country whose citizens have been banned because they hold dual citizenship with one of the seven ban list countries should announce that reciprocity rules will be in effect - starting 7 days hence, Americans will not be allowed in to their countries.

 

The US ban would not last the week...

 

 

[oxo1947]

Your not Banned if you hold Duel citizenship  ship WW-----

[ezzra]

21 minutes ago, WaywardWind said:

One way to end it in a hurry:

 

Canada, Australia, the UK, and any other country whose citizens have been banned because they hold dual citizenship with one of the seven ban list countries should announce that reciprocity rules will be in effect - starting 7 days hence, Americans will not be allowed in to their countries.

 

The US ban would not last the week...

 

 

 

Your logic will be right if a US citizen who has a duel nationality with one of the

7 banned country will want to enter Canada, Australia, the UK, and any other country whose citizens have been banned.. otherwise your ' suggestion' is without a merit....

[WaywardWind]

Just now, ezzra said:

 

Your logic will be right if a US citizen who has a duel nationality with one of the

7 banned country will want to enter Canada, Australia, the UK, and any other country whose citizens have been banned.. otherwise your ' suggestion' is without a merit....

Nope...the US is banning a citizen from one of the other countries.

 

It is irrelevant that the individuals hold citizenship in one of the Trump 7, or any other country.

 

 

[WaywardWind]

4 minutes ago, oxo1947 said:

Your not Banned if you hold Duel citizenship  ship WW-----

Depends on who you speak to.

 

As of last night, dual nationals were banned according to DHS officials; this morning - after I wrote this comment - I read that the WH had exempted dual nationals from the UK and Canada, and that Australia was in discussions to obtain the same exemption.

[Luckysilk]

It's going to be a long 4 years with the lefties protesting every move the President makes.

 

This is an election promise kept, quite simple really.

[simple1]

6 minutes ago, Luckysilk said:

It's going to be a long 4 years with the lefties protesting every move the President makes.

 

This is an election promise kept, quite simple really.

Is his SecState a 'lefty'?

 

It is now incumbent upon @POTUS to work with lawmakers on his immigration Exec Order to clarify its parameters for immigration officials ...

— Rex W. Tillerson (@realRWTillerson) January 29, 2017

... and to comply with the obligations the US already has to the Geneva convention's humanitarian policies.

— Rex W. Tillerson (@realRWTillerson) January 29, 2017

[oxo1947]

1 hour ago, WaywardWind said:

As of last night, dual nationals were banned according to DHS officials; this morning - after I wrote this commen

It is moving fast WW... so there is some confusion at first,  But it was spelt out (I think by the UK papers this morning) "

"Britons with dual citizenship will be exempt from Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban, the Foreign Office has confirmed."—From the paper that you cannot quote .com

I know they are only talking about Duel/C Brits....but that is because they are a Brit paper, there is some confusion—hopefully that will be sorted today

 

 

[bangon04]

Don't see the problem - Merkel will take them all in - 

[Kabula]

If the media conveyed the truth, there would be few problems.

[Usernames]

2 hours ago, oxo1947 said:

To-days UK papers are reporting that Iraq in retaliation, may ban any American holiday makers coming there--- It would be shattering news for those Americans that already had their Beach towels packed...........

Let's hope they ban US soldiers too. And we'll see Iraq do its best Libya impersonation.

[craigt3365]

3 hours ago, oxo1947 said:

To-days UK papers are reporting that Iraq in retaliation, may ban any American holiday makers coming there--- It would be shattering news for those Americans that already had their Beach towels packed...........

Iran is an amazing country to explore as a tourist.  Absolutely fantastic.  Seriously.

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, Kabula said:

If the media conveyed the truth, there would be few problems.

What truth is that?

[craigt3365]

2 hours ago, Luckysilk said:

It's going to be a long 4 years with the lefties protesting every move the President makes.

 

This is an election promise kept, quite simple really.

An election promise by a president that's not viewed favorably by a majority of Americans.  Given his 40% approval rating.  Oops...it's dropped again.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/27/politics/trump-approval-rating-quinnipiac-poll/

Quote

Poll: 36% approve of Trump's job performance

 

It's not the "lefties" who are protesting every move the president makes.  It's a majority of Americans.

[alex8912]

I'm sure if these protests keep going on in Boston there will be new protesters who are protesting the use of non recycled protesting signs!  

[ddavidovsky]

Whether it works or not, it sends the right message.

[kevkev1888]

38 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

It's not the "lefties" who are protesting every move the president makes.  It's a majority of Americans.

160 million + protesters. Hmmm really.

[Pimay1]

50 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Iran is an amazing country to explore as a tourist.  Absolutely fantastic.  Seriously.

Craig we don't agree on much but I have to totally agree with you this time. And the Iranian people are wonderful people. It is just the leaders that are bad people.When I was there I heard hundreds of ayatollah jokes. People couldn't stand him but were afraid to speak out in public.

[Pimay1]

The democrats have short memories. They are hypocrites.

 

Despite today’s liberal outrage over President Donald Trump’s refugee executive order, many liberals in 1975 were part of a chorus of big name Democrats who refused to accept any Vietnamese refugees when millions were trying to escape South Vietnam as it fell to the communists.  The Los Angeles Times reported Brown even attempted to prevent planes carrying Vietnamese refugees from landing at Travis Air Force Base outside San Francisco.

 

http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/29/flashback-when-liberal-democrats-opposed-refugees-and-even-orphans/

[craigt3365]

16 minutes ago, kevkev1888 said:

160 million + protesters. Hmmm really.

Based on Trump's approval rating.  Not those out protesting.

[craigt3365]

9 minutes ago, Pimay1 said:

Craig we don't agree on much but I have to totally agree with you this time. And the Iranian people are wonderful people. It is just the leaders that are bad people.When I was there I heard hundreds of ayatollah jokes. People couldn't stand him but were afraid to speak out in public.

That's the sad truth about many countries.  Great people. Lousy leaders!

[jcsmith]

I'll be honest with you, as a kid I sat around and wondered how Germany could have allowed Hitler to rise to power. How could they not see it coming? Step by step until it was at the point where they were fighting an impossible battle. I feel like America is at that point right now. Anyone who didn't realize what Trump was, should now see it. The GOP need to decide where they stand on this. I know they aren't all in support of it, but not enough people are speaking out, lest they be left on the right side of history. But where Germany didn't have the history to go by, America does.

 

When on Holocaust Remembrance Day the madman in power makes step one of a muslim ban, and their press release doesn't even mention the atrocities that befell the Jews at that time period. When there are protests throughout the country and the president tries to tell the people this is just media propaganda. When he limits the power of key intelligence people from the National Security Council and then places Steve Bannon into that council. When he flirts with lifting sanctions on the very country which just hacked our election and which is the largest threat to our NATO allies. When he tries to force a wall on the American taxpayers most of who said they do not want it if that is the case. When he sends Mike Pence out on a pro-life mission while 7/10 Americans do not support banning abortions. When he signs an executive order to repeal Obamacare, and leaked tapes from the Republican meeting shows they have nothing to replace it with. As he plans massive tax cuts for the top 1%, and promises a large boost to what is already by far the most funded military in the world, while planning to cut Medicaid, and to head into trade wars which will raise the prices of the consumer.

 

It's time for Americans to stand up to this. No matter what side of the fence you are on, the question that you need to ask yourself is what side of history do you want to be on when the dust settles? 

Edited January 30, 2017 by jcsmith

[Ulysses G.]

Hitler made it plain that he hated Jews and mentioned killing Jews in Mien Kompf and other litature. He went on to kill 6 million of them. Comparing Trump to him is hateful, dishonest and utterly ridiculous. Try criticizing something that he has actually done. 

Edited January 30, 2017 by Ulysses G.

[jcsmith]

2 minutes ago, Ulysses G. said:

Hitler made it plain that he hated Jews and mentioned killing Jews in Mien Kompf and other litature. He went on to kill 6 million of them Comparing Trump to him is hateful, dishonest and utterly ridiculous. Try criticizing something that he has actually done. 

Trump is heading in that direction. He, Mike Flynn, Steve Bannon very clearly have a problem differentiating between normal muslims and islamic extremics. They are ready to give unconditional support to the right wing extemists in Israel. He has openly said we should have taken the oil in Iraq and that maybe we will have another chance. He looks to be ready to side with Russia in his battle. And while this is all happening he tweets about how Christians are being murdered in the Middle East and this must stop. It is quite obvious what he is trying to do. He's painting an us vs. them image that is not based on facts, but on his alternative facts. He appointed Mike Flynn whose son himself was on Twitter calling this a muslim ban yesterday, and who has himself said that, "1.6 billion people are infected with the vicious cancer of islam". He's clearly moving towards a war on the muslim faith.

[Ulysses G.]

1 hour ago, ddavidovsky said:

Whether it works or not, it sends the right message.

 

If you mean Trump's executive order, I agree with you. However, there are some minor problems that need to be ironed out concerning those holding green cards and previous visas.

[craigt3365]

9 minutes ago, Ulysses G. said:

Hitler made it plain that he hated Jews and mentioned killing Jews in Mien Kompf and other litature. He went on to kill 6 million of them. Comparing Trump to him is hateful, dishonest and utterly ridiculous. Try criticizing something that he has actually done. 

Trump has sure tweeted enough about Muslims. Most of it not good.

 

https://storify.com/saenpremium/donald-trump-on-islam-muslims-and-the-middle-east

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/25/with-impending-muslim-ban-trump-to-turn-hate-into-policy.html

Quote

The man who despicably declared that “Islam hates us,” lied that “thousands” of Muslims cheered in New Jersey on 9/11 and claimed despite facts actually proving the opposite that American Muslims are hiding terrorists in our midst, per media reports will soon be banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States as well as barring Syrian and other refugees.

 

[Ulysses G.]

11 minutes ago, jcsmith said:

Trump is heading in that direction. He, Mike Flynn, Steve Bannon very clearly have a problem differentiating between normal muslims and islamic extremics. They are ready to give unconditional support to the right wing extemists in Israel. He has openly said we should have taken the oil in Iraq and that maybe we will have another chance. He looks to be ready to side with Russia in his battle. And while this is all happening he tweets about how Christians are being murdered in the Middle East and this must stop. It is quite obvious what he is trying to do. He's painting an us vs. them image that is not based on facts, but on his alternative facts. He appointed Mike Flynn whose son himself was on Twitter calling this a muslim ban yesterday, and who has himself said that, "1.6 billion people are infected with the vicious cancer of islam". He's clearly moving towards a war on the muslim faith.

 

You seem to be talking about the war on ISIS. That has nothing to do with some imaginary war on ordinary Muslims. Trump has made it plain that he wants to get rid of Radical Islamic Terrorists and he has plenty of support for that. He is nothing like Hitler. Claiming otherwise is absurd.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Ulysses G.

[craigt3365]

5 minutes ago, Ulysses G. said:

 

If you mean Trump's executive order, I agree with you. However, there are some minor problems that need to be ironed out concerning those holding green cards and previous visas.

Minor problems?  I think BBC stated it properly:

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38791752

 

Quote

 

Trump's executive order: Amateur hour at the White House?

 

While on the campaign trail, it was easy for Mr Trump to roundly decry the US immigration system as broken and make a general call for bans and moratoriums. As president, however, his team has had to fill in the details - and it seems they faced some difficulty translating his pre-election rhetoric into policy.

 

Mr Trump's Friday afternoon executive order reportedly was crafted without consulting legal aides and enacted over the objection of homeland security officials, who balked at including permanent US residents in the ban.

 

 

This is a must read.  Shows how he operates.  It's not good.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/