1. What Trump’s decree on immigration calls for and why it’s illegal
With the umpteenth executive order (the heretofore unprecedented fourteenth in a single week), President Trump has imposed an absurd block on the arrival of refugees and citizens of certain predominantly Muslim countries. Here is a look at what the decree calls for, what will change for refugees and why it is clearly illegal – explained by The New York Times.
2. Entry ban
Who can no longer enter the United States under Trump’s decree? An essential explanation – with illustrations – from Vox and an analysis from CNN on the stories of people who have been denied entry.
3. The immediate impact
Chaos broke out immediately with hundreds of people stuck in American airports and at risk of being deported while outside protests erupted and civil rights lawyers rushed to get to airports and courtrooms to give pro bono legal assistance to those who had been detained and to attempt to block Trump’s decree. The article from Wired.
4. The human costs
People blocked, families separated, educational paths interrupted. An article from Quartz takes stock of the human costs of Trump’s policies.
5. There is a judge in New York, but the battle’s just begun
As promised, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) contested the decree in court and obtained an important first victory with a New York judge’s ruling (followed by similar ones in other states) which has blocked the deportations of many people with valid travel documents. But the battle has just begun. The letter from the director of the ACLU, Anthony Romero.
Victory!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/uyza3zrQSX
— ACLU National (@ACLU) January 29, 2017
6. “Vetting” is already extreme
Among other things, Trump’s decree promises “extreme vetting” for those refugees attempting to enter the country after the expiration of the temporary ban. However, the evaluation and verification process of allowing refugees into the United States is already extreme. A Syrian refugee explains at Politico.
7. It has nothing to do with national security
The decree states that it is aimed at protecting Americans from terrorism. But Trump’s blacklist blocking citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries does nothing to combat terrorism, on the contrary, it marginalises and discriminates against Muslims.
An in-depth analysis from Vox.
8. Refugees do not import terror
To be more precise, it could be said – as demonstrated in a recent study – that there is no relationship between refugees, immigration and terrorism at all. An article from CNN.
9. What we should have learned from history
Professor James Hathaway, an expert on international refugee law, explains in an interview with the Washington Post why we should have learned from history that immigration policies like those of Trump are unforgivable mistakes and, on top of it, illegal.
10. Welcome to the New World
In closing, the story of a family of Syrians in America as told through a comic, beginning with their arrival in their new home – the day Donald Trump was elected. In The New York Times.
Header Photo: Lorie Shaull (CC BY-SA 2.0).
Translation: Alexander Booth
