On Muslim-ban: New Executive Order Next Week Following Defeat In Court Of Appeals
On January 27, 2017, US President Donald Trump authorized the executive order to establish a temporary travel ban to and from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen - a decision which practically divided the nation in two throughout its early implementation. But 18 days after the so-called Muslim ban was implemented, the peril of affecting over 60,000 visas and the moral dilemma of dealing with 64,000 refugees prompted action from all American protestors from individual lawyers to huge corporations like Google and Facebook.
The case of "State of Washington v. Donald Trump" ruled in favor of the petitioners. The Justice Department rendered the so-called Muslim ban ineffective. For now, it was a sound victory for the people of the United States against the controversial executive order.
Back To The Drawing Board
But as reported by Engadget and Kiro7, the fight to lift the controversial bill is far from over. Just recently, Donald Trump announced his intent to draft a so-called new Muslim ban that will retain some of the basic principles while adding a few adjustments.
Immoral > Necessary
Although there are merits to the proposed and prematurely enacted travel ban, it could not be denied that there were also cases of discrimination that almost certainly outweighs the imagined threat to national security. In fact, one of the latest reports featured in Travelers Today chronicles the restraint of a NASA scientist whose only discernible fault was being born of Indian ethnicity.
Sidd Bikkannavar, a 35-year old tech designer of the 2018-scheduled James Webb NASA telescope, was detained in Houston by the Homeland Security staff. His government-issue phone was confiscated and all his online files copied while held for several hours at the airport.
The seizure of privacy and humiliating racial profile experienced by Mr. Bikkannavar was just one of the many controversial cases that made headlines. The real moral harm is becoming more apparent than the hypothetical terrorist threat.