| Hats off to State of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, |  |
...for requesting a halt on Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from the primarily Muslim countries of Yemen, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Iraq.
And three cheers for Federal Judge James Robart - a George W. Bush appointee, by the way -
And three cheers for Federal Judge James Robart - a George W. Bush appointee, by the way -
 | ...with a penchant for stylish ties, |
 |  |
...as well a justice. It was Judge Robart who granted a restraining order on Donald Trump's Muslim ban.
Judge Robart's order means that our country's laws regarding travelers entering the United States have returned to what they were a week ago, before Donald Trump decided to whip out without warning an impetuous, not-thought-out executive order that plunged airports across the U.S. and around globe into disorder and confusion, sparked world-wide outrage and protests, and left 60,000 travelers in difficult straits, some with their lives in chaos.
But what now?
Unmoved by all the hardship and anxiety he's inflicted upon these many thousands of men, women, and children with the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump, in a seething tweet denigrating Judge Robart's qualifications, promised to overturn the Judge's order and has already ordered the Department of Justice to appeal the ruling.
This is not the formulation of a policy of immigration and border control for the security of our nation.
This is irresponsibility and pure heartlessness.
Can you imagine all these people, people who've called our country home for years, contributing members of our society, doctors, university professors, students, ordinary law-abiding tax-paying, legal residents, working, home-owning people, people whose families are here, or who were traveling with their families, their children? Can you imagine all these people arriving back home to the States after their trip abroad, an 8, 10, 12, 14-hour plane trip, being stopped at Customs and told to their bewilderment that it's suddenly against the law for them to be here?
Can you imagine all the travelers who innocently procured their travel visas to come to the U.S. to study, work, live, visit, go on vacation, whatever, who unsuspectingly bought their plane tickets, got on the plane, then were stopped at their layover point and told they couldn't continue on?
And what about the thousands of refugees, men, women and children who suffered war, loss and privation then spent years of their lives waiting their turn in camps, only to suffer the random and horrible bad luck of be given the travel date of the day when Donald Trump impulsively and without warning slammed the door to them?
It's said that now that the travel ban has been blocked, people whose visas were not physically cancelled may be able to try to get another plane ticket and book a return flight to the U.S. but they'd better do it quickly because Trump's travel ban could be reinstated at any time by ruling of an appeals court.
But what about the refugees and those people whose visas, in the confusion, were physically cancelled? They may well be out of luck, the least fortunate of all.
In truth nobody seems to know what's going on, what the outcome will be for any of those who were turned away last week but who now seek to return to the United States. And the airlines are still in chaos, with beleaguered airline workers who have no idea what to do.
So while confusion reigns amidst legal uncertainty, tens of thousands of immigrants, refugees, and travelers are left with their lives still in limbo. Where are they all now? Returned to the countries from which they departed, countries that they were only visiting but may not now be able to leave? What about the people who are stranded in the countries where they were supposed to change planes? What about families with children, with babies? What are these people doing for food and shelter and clean clothes and diapers and baby food? What about the people who need to get back to their jobs and schools and families in the U.S.? What about those who can't afford the expense of food and lodging for themselves and their families? What if they can't get back here? What about the people who will become lost in the shuffle, who will fall through the cracks? What about the children?
Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to be the law and order President.
Instead he's revealed himself to be the Imp of disorder, chaos, and cruelty
Judge Robart's order means that our country's laws regarding travelers entering the United States have returned to what they were a week ago, before Donald Trump decided to whip out without warning an impetuous, not-thought-out executive order that plunged airports across the U.S. and around globe into disorder and confusion, sparked world-wide outrage and protests, and left 60,000 travelers in difficult straits, some with their lives in chaos.
But what now?
Unmoved by all the hardship and anxiety he's inflicted upon these many thousands of men, women, and children with the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump, in a seething tweet denigrating Judge Robart's qualifications, promised to overturn the Judge's order and has already ordered the Department of Justice to appeal the ruling.
This is not the formulation of a policy of immigration and border control for the security of our nation.
This is irresponsibility and pure heartlessness.
Can you imagine all these people, people who've called our country home for years, contributing members of our society, doctors, university professors, students, ordinary law-abiding tax-paying, legal residents, working, home-owning people, people whose families are here, or who were traveling with their families, their children? Can you imagine all these people arriving back home to the States after their trip abroad, an 8, 10, 12, 14-hour plane trip, being stopped at Customs and told to their bewilderment that it's suddenly against the law for them to be here?
Can you imagine all the travelers who innocently procured their travel visas to come to the U.S. to study, work, live, visit, go on vacation, whatever, who unsuspectingly bought their plane tickets, got on the plane, then were stopped at their layover point and told they couldn't continue on?
And what about the thousands of refugees, men, women and children who suffered war, loss and privation then spent years of their lives waiting their turn in camps, only to suffer the random and horrible bad luck of be given the travel date of the day when Donald Trump impulsively and without warning slammed the door to them?
It's said that now that the travel ban has been blocked, people whose visas were not physically cancelled may be able to try to get another plane ticket and book a return flight to the U.S. but they'd better do it quickly because Trump's travel ban could be reinstated at any time by ruling of an appeals court.
But what about the refugees and those people whose visas, in the confusion, were physically cancelled? They may well be out of luck, the least fortunate of all.
In truth nobody seems to know what's going on, what the outcome will be for any of those who were turned away last week but who now seek to return to the United States. And the airlines are still in chaos, with beleaguered airline workers who have no idea what to do.
So while confusion reigns amidst legal uncertainty, tens of thousands of immigrants, refugees, and travelers are left with their lives still in limbo. Where are they all now? Returned to the countries from which they departed, countries that they were only visiting but may not now be able to leave? What about the people who are stranded in the countries where they were supposed to change planes? What about families with children, with babies? What are these people doing for food and shelter and clean clothes and diapers and baby food? What about the people who need to get back to their jobs and schools and families in the U.S.? What about those who can't afford the expense of food and lodging for themselves and their families? What if they can't get back here? What about the people who will become lost in the shuffle, who will fall through the cracks? What about the children?
Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to be the law and order President.
Instead he's revealed himself to be the Imp of disorder, chaos, and cruelty
References
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/04/politics/airlines-airports-trump-travel-ban/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/04/politics/airlines-airports-trump-travel-ban/index.html
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