About The Republican ‘Facile Argument’ That Obama Halted Immigration. Just Like Trump

Barack Obama, Donald Trump, IMMIGRATION, Logic, Reason, Republicans

Republicans are whinging about “how the media didn’t mind much when Barack Obama halted immigration, why are they making a fuss about the Trump refugee pause.” The whine amounts to one of those tit-for-tat, vacuous, non-arguments. It’s not an arguments of substance.

In fact, I dearly hope the Washington Post is correct and that it’s “facile”  to “claim that Trump’s refugee policy is similar to Obama’s in 2011.” Why my hope? Because, I don’t know about you, but I despised Obama’s immigration policy. If Trump is merely doing what Obama did, then that’s not a positive thing in my book—and it’s not an argument in defense of Trump’s welcome ban.

Moreover, if Obama already did what Trump intends to accomplish with his executive travel ban—then he wasn’t so bad, now, was he? See how the non-argument above can be turned on Republicans? If Obama already did what Trump is doing about refugees—and I hope not—then Republicans and their media were  guilty of ignoring BHO’s “great merits.”

Yes, that’s what happens when you make a you-pulled-my-ponytail-first “argument.”

But since we know full well BHO was G-d awful—that he increased immigration overall, refugees and illegal aliens—it’s obvious he never came close to fulfilling the Trump promise of a Muslim immigration moratorium.

So what is the whine about? Is it to point out that mass media prefer Obama and didn’t hold him accountable? That’s a no-brainer! Better to offer a substantive defense of Trump’s positions on their merit than to keep disgorging dumb case after another to the tune that, “Hey, our guy is just like the other guy, it’s just that the media don’t like him for no reason.”

Our guy is not like Obama and I hope the media continue to hate him. That’s one measure of how well the president’s keeping his promises.

 

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Of Course The President’s Ban Is Constitutional

Constitution, Donald Trump, IMMIGRATION, Islam, Justice

Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. —The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, Section, 212(f).

President Donald Trump’s moratorium on the entry of all refugees into the United States, and “an order for ‘extreme vetting’ as a condition for entry for some foreign citizens,” is constitutional. This is old hat; discussed, too, in my book, “The Trump Revolution: The Donald’s Creative Destruction Deconstructed.” (June, 2016).

No fan of the executive order, constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley says he disagrees with his “colleagues at George Washington University Law School and other law schools that the order is clearly unconstitutional”:

…Courts are not supposed to rule on the merits of such laws but their legality. I think that the existing precedent favors Trump.

First, this is not a religious ban. When it was first discussed on the campaign, it was described as a ban on Muslims. This is not a religious ban. It certainly can be opposed as having that effect but there are a wide array of Muslim countries not covered by the ban and would not be impacted by the restrictions. A court cannot in my view treat this order as carrying out a religious ban as it is currently written. (Trump’s comments that he wants to prioritize Christians could raise more compelling arguments of religious discrimination).

Second, the law largely suspends entry pending the creation of new vetting procedures. That is based on a national security determination made by the President. Courts have generally deferred to such judgments. A president’s authority is at its zenith on our borders. Hillary Clinton herself campaigned on carefully vetting refugees (though she favors increasing such entries). In a November 2015 national security speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, Clinton said “So yes, we do need to be vigilant in screening and vetting any refugees from Syria, guided by the best judgment of our security professionals in close coordination with our allies and partners.”

Finally, there is precedent for limited entry from particular countries going back to some of the earliest periods in this country. The earlier immigration laws include the 1875 Page Act which focused on Asian immigrants and those believes to be engaged in prostitution or considered convicts in their native countries. Then there was the infamous 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Then there were other measures limiting immigration from particular areas like the 1906 “Gentleman’s Agreement” (Japanese aliens) and the or the 1917 Immigration Act (“Asiatic Barred Zone”). In 1921 and 1924, Congress passed the “Quota Acts” limiting entry from disfavored countries. of nations from whom no further immigrants would be accepted. In every case, immigration policy continued to develop as a series of widening, discriminatory exclusions. It was not until 1965 that we broke from our long and troubling history is such discrimination. However, The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act contains section, 212(f) that gives sweeping authority on the exclusion of certain aliens: …

… READ THE REST.


The Lobbyists:

UPDATED (1/29): Make Jerusalem Safe Again

Christianity, Donald Trump, IMMIGRATION, Islam, Israel, Palestinian Authority

“Make Jerusalem Safe Again” is the current column, now on The Daily Caller. (And, yes, the column does briefly address the “land” issue, which libertarians can’t skirt.) An excerpt:

RELOCATING the American Embassy to Jerusalem, as President Donald Trump has pledged to do, is more than symbolic. It’s what Christians should be praying for if they value celebrating future Easter Holy Weeks, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, located in Jerusalem’s Old City. With such a forceful gesture, the Trump Administration will be affirming, for once and for all, the undivided Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State.

There’s a reason Muslims living in Israel proper—1.5 million of them—don’t migrate to the adjacent Palestinian Authority. They’re better off in Israel. Should Jerusalem, East and West, be recognized formally as the capital of Israel only, under Jewish control alone; Christianity’s holiest sites will be better off. Judaism’s holy sites will be safer. And so will Islam’s.

Jerusalem is no settlement to be haggled over; it’s the capital of the Jewish State. King David conquered it 1000 years Before Christ. The city’s “Muslim Period” began only in the year 638 of the Common Era. “Yerushalaim,” and not Al Quds, is the name of the city that was sacred to Jews for nearly two thousand years before Muhammad. Not once is Jerusalem mentioned in the Quran. And while Muhammad was said to have departed to the heavens from the Al Aksa Mosque, there was no mosque in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque were built upon the Jewish Temple Mount. Muslim theologians subsequently justified this usurpation by superimposing their own chronology—and relatively recent fondness for Jerusalem—upon the existing, ancient sanctity of the place to Jews.

Essentially, this amounts to historical identity theft.

It’s bad enough that Bethlehem—the burial site of the matriarch Rachel, birthplace to King David and Jesus and site of the Church of the Nativity—is controlled by the Palestinians. But, as one wag wondered, “How would Christians react if the Muslim theologians aforementioned had chosen to appropriate the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, rename it and declare it Muslim property?”

There is nothing Solomonic about splitting up Jerusalem, which—it bears repeating—was sacred to Jews for nearly two millennia before Muhammad and is not in the Quran. “The Muslim Claim to Jerusalem,” notes Dr. Daniel Pipes, is political, not religious or historic. As such, it’s also a recent project. “Centuries of neglect came to an abrupt end after June 1967, when the Old City came under Israeli control,” explains Pipes. “Palestinians [then] again made Jerusalem the centerpiece of their political program, [when, in fact] Mecca is the eternal city of Islam, the place from which non-Muslims are strictly forbidden. Very roughly speaking, [Mecca is to Islam] what Jerusalem is to Judaism.”

East Jerusalem was not annexed in June of 1967. Rather, Jerusalem was unified. …”

… Read the rest. “Make Jerusalem Safe Again” is now on The Daily Caller. If you’d like to feature the Mercer weekly column in your publication, print or pixels, please contact me at ilana@ilanamercer.com.

UPDATED (1/29):
Global Right of Return to US:

UPDATED (1/27): Tornado Trump

Donald Trump, Etiquette, Government, Homeland Security, IMMIGRATION, Islam

He takes no salary, because he views his work as a labor of love for his country and countrymen. His work ethic is as wicked as his co-worker kids promised it would be. And he is keeping his promises to the voters, so far. Is President Donald Trump for real?

Here are the presidential actions taken by President Trump in the first days of his presidency.

UPDATE (1/27): “President Donald Trump signed a sweeping new executive order Friday to suspend refugee arrivals and impose tough new controls on travelers from seven Muslim countries.” Amen. Full text.

Presidential Actions

Executive Order on January 25, 2017

Executive Order: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements

Executive Order on January 25, 2017

Executive Order: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States

Presidential Memorandum on January 24, 2017

Presidential Memorandum Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic Manufacturing

Presidential Memorandum on January 24, 2017

Presidential Memorandum Regarding Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline

Presidential Memorandum on January 24, 2017

Presidential Memorandum Regarding Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline

Executive Order on January 24, 2017

Executive Order Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects

Presidential Memorandum on January 24, 2017

Presidential Memorandum Regarding Construction of American Pipelines

Presidential Memorandum on January 23, 2017

Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze

Presidential Memorandum on January 23, 2017

Presidential Memorandum Regarding Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement

Presidential Memorandum on January 23, 2017

Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Mexico City Policy

Presidential Memorandum on January 20, 2017

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

Executive Order on January 20, 2017

Executive Order Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal

Ta-ta TPP:

The time is ripe to say the same to the UN:

Fake News Media think that because they lie about crucial issues, everyone else does:

Trump has unintended, wonderful consequences:

Raising the possibility of voter fraud: Fake News try to stigmatize it: