Jan 20- marked the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Protests met the new leader of the free world that day and the next day in the form of the Women’s March. Despite having just begun, Trump’s presidency is lighting flames of controversy.
Trump has signed several executive orders since he entered office, most of which have been controversial.
True to his word, Trump signed an executive order for a wall to be built on the southern border of the United States as well as to increase the number of deportation officers that are hired.
He also signed the hyperbolic “Muslim ban” executive order temporarily barring the acceptance of refugees from Libya, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Yemen and Syria.
When asked about Donald Trump’s first days as President, Marvin Velasquez commented on the wall “It’s a little premature. I think that in order to go through with it a plan should’ve been put into place first. Studies, plans, talk to contractors. It’s easy to just say ‘we’re going to do this,’ but have no plan put into place to do it. It’s obviously not an easy project, it’s a very time consuming project that will likely outlast his time in the Presidency.” He also commented on the temporary banning of Muslims “Same type of thing. Everything seems rather premature. There were no clear definition put into place because there was a lot of confusion regarding how immigration and customs was to go through and carry out the order. Would green card citizens be affected? Some were saying yes, some were saying no. Clearly there was nothing definitive put into writing on how to proceed in doing this, it was just done.” The countries were chosen from a bill written by Barack Obama in late 2015; the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention act.
The signing of the law made it difficult for a Visa waiver carrier to enter the U.S. if they had visited any of the aforementioned “countries of concern.”
Concerns of the Muslim bans legality has come to the forefront.
Wajiha Tahir, a student on Delta noted the “ban” bordered on unconstitutional with it focusing on Muslims, she questioned primarily turning away Syrians, noting most asylum seekers were those with families and children.
Despite this, Political Science professor on Delta campus Joel Blank stated the “ban”’ was not a ban and that it only skirts a constitutional crisis.
“If you read the executive order it is not a Muslim ban. It got confused because he used that term throughout the campaign, and even when he got elected. But if you read the executive order, it’s not a ban. The seven countries that he’s applying the executive order to in regard to visas in regard to refugees, they are countries that have been identified as being unstable, failed governments and the like. In terms of the unconstitutionality part, certainly how it was applied is complex. In the executive order, people with green cards were not listed, and the administration said that it was inaccurately implemented.”
So they’re blaming the implementers of the executive order. They’re not to blame. They should have checked this with Homeland Security, they should’ve checked this with the Justice department, the state department to make it clear that people with green cards can still get into the country. The only area I understand to have some level of unconstitutionality was this idea that we can basically deport these people without due process. That’s a violations of the 14th amendment, when on American soil you get the right to due process. That’s why you had all those lawyers go down to these airports to represent people,” said Blank.
The order also calls on the FBI, the secretaries of State and Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence to develop more screening methods for future immigration.
Trump also ended the Trans-Pacific Partnership before it even picked up to be voted on as well as pushed for a renegotiation to the North American Free Trade Agreement. Other executive orders include one demanding that for every regulation set forth two must be abolished before the new regulation can be implemented, another lengthening the ban of administration workers becoming lobbyists, and another reviving the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline, as well as preserved President Barack Obama’s executive order protecting LGBTQ Federal workers. When asked about the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline Jason Teixeira said “While I don’t agree with reinstating them, I do believe his avoidance of the indian grounds and the navigating of the pipelines was very respectful and was a good way to treat that whole thing.” When asked about how he felt about Trumps work so far he said, “Some of the things he’s brought in I highly agree with, some I disagree with, I feel like with what he’s doing things could go well. I agree with the protections for the LGBTQ workers, regulations assisting small business I highly believe in that because small business is something has been getting really
decimated with the rise of big business such as Walmart and Target, etc. as for the whole thing with the wall I don’t particularly agree with that, I see where he’s coming from, but I think we have more pressing issues on our own soil. As for the ban on refugees from the seven dangerous countries, I agree with that to an extent. Because there has been a lot of threats of terrorism recently. There was the San Bernardino shooter, the attacks in Nice, France, the thousand man gang rape in Germany last year. It’s disgusting, and it’s because a lot of the principles of Islam are, to an extent, incompatible with Western culture and it’s not the west that needs to change. As for turning away those with Visas, I disagree with that part. If you’ve assimilated, and you’ve proven you have what it takes to be an American, and actually show that you are a part of the country, as American as Joe Shmoe over there than I think you should be able to be here and make a living for yourself.”