All Americans should speak out in opposition to President Trump’s fundamentally un-American executive order signed on Friday banning travel from several Muslim-majority countries and restricting the resettlement here of refugees from war-torn nations.
Not only is it contrary to our long-held values of freedom and liberty, inscribed on everything from our founding documents to the Statue of Liberty, it is contrary to our very own safety.
As Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham have said: “This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.”
The former chief of the CIA’s Near East division, Robert Richer, calls it a “strategic mistake” and “a win for jihadists and other anti-U.S. forces.”
With his executive order, President Trump is unilaterally attacking our American values and our safety. The president is ignoring the advice of level-headed policy experts and allowing policy to be written by xenophobic zealots. Contrary to his self-aggrandizing and delusional statements that implementation of the executive order is going smoothly, that implementation has wreaked havoc in the lives of several families who have legally gained the right to travel or seek refuge here.
Furthermore, it has sparked a constitutional crisis as at least four federal judges have (bravely) issued rulings temporarily halting its implementation. This madness needs to stop, right now, before this country slips further into the chaos the president and his close circle of advisers seem to desire.
JONATHAN LAX
Concord