Thursday, February 2, 2017

Sudan Refugees - Update



Turns out that Trumps travel ban affects some NBA players from Sudan. What on earth has he got against Sudan? Netflix has a movie called the Lost Boys of Sudan describing some of the hardhsips many young kids faced fleeing war torn Sudan and coming to America as refugees.

Obviously the Americans can ban whoever they want from visiting their country. I will simply say that is not the type of society I want to live in and that is not the type of society the US Constitution was designed to create. This is why many voters rather have a criminal in office than a lunatic.

I'm going to share a real life story about a family of refugees from Sudan my kids grew up with in Surrey. When my kids were very young we moved back to Surrey for them to start elementary school. The school had a big buddy program where they would pair up an older kid with a younger kid just starting out. They would meet during class time and form a friendship so the younger kid wouldn't feel so scared and had someone older to look out for them on the playground.

My son's big buddie was named Mamoosh. His family were refugees from Sudan and lived in the same complex we did so they continued that friendship after school. Mamoosh had a sister named Mimi who was friends with my daughter. The father was a hard working professional.

Then the day came for Mamoosh and his family to move. My son was heartbroken. When he heard the news I saw the shock on his face. He quickly went home and went to his room to be alone. I noticed the urgency and followed him to see what he was doing. He was sitting in his room weeping. He was very young. He wasn't being a drama queen. He just wanted to be alone and grieve in private the loss of a dear friend. That is how much that friendship meant to him.

I'm not going to entertain conversations that promote hate and intolerance. Like I said, the Americans can ban whoever they want from visiting their country. That is not the type of society I want to live in and that is not the type of society the US Constitution was designed to create.



Update: Turns out Mamoosh's family was from Ethiopia not Sudan but the point remains valid. Diversity makes us strong. "I've seen too much hate to want to hate and every time I see it I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear." Martin Luther King

Former Norway PM Detained At Dulles Airport over travel ban

The Huffington Post is reporting that "A stunned former prime minister of Norway complained that he was caught up in the maw of Donald Trump’s controversial executive order and detained this week by border agents at Washington’s Dulles International Airport because he visited Iran in 2014. Kjell Magne Bondevik said that after he landed at Dulles on Tuesday he was herded into a room with a group of travelers from the Middle East and Africa. He was ordered to wait for 40 minutes, then questioned for another 20 after officials spotted a travel stamp on his passport revealing that he had flown to Iran three years ago, reported WJLA-TV. The passport also clearly identified him as a former prime minister of Norway, he said."

Angelina Jolie Comments On Recent Immigrant Ban

The Daily Mail is reporting that Angelina Jolie has written an article in the New York Times about Donald Trump's immigration ban. "'Refugees are men, women and children caught in the fury of war, or the cross hairs of persecution. 'Far from being terrorists, they are often the victims of terrorism themselves', she wrote.

'It is simply not true that our borders are overrun or that refugees are admitted to the United States without close scrutiny. 'Refugees are in fact subject to the highest level of screening of any category of traveler to the United States. 'Targeting the weakest does not show strength'.

Seattle judge blocks Trump immigration order

Reuters is reporting that A federal judge on Friday put a nationwide block on U.S. President Donald Trump's week-old executive order temporarily barring refugees and nationals from seven countries from entering the United States. The White House said late on Friday it believed the ban to be "lawful and appropriate" and said the U.S. Department of Justice would file an emergency motion to stop the judge's order taking effect.

The Seattle judge's ruling takes effect because it considered the broad constitutionality of Trump's order. Robart also explicitly made his ruling apply across the country, while other judges facing similar cases have so far issued orders concerning only specific individuals. Washington Governor Jay Inslee celebrated the decision as a victory for the state, adding: "no person - not even the president - is above the law."

7 comments:

  1. There are no gains to be made with this "ban" Trump has imposed. There are only losses. The "executive" order has created more problems than it will ever solve. Clearly no one though that one through.

    i.e. The senior Iraqi general has his family living in the U.S.A. so they will be safe. He visits them on a regular basis. He can no longer do so. He is the guy the Americans are relying on in Iraq and he is no longer welcome. They trust him to run the fighting in Iraq but not to visit his family. This does not send a good message.

    Hate works if you're trying to divide people. Trump is off to a good start dividing his nation. But it is most likely what Bannon wants. Should have seen the smile on Bannon's face when the "executive order" was being signed.

    At one time we were all immigrants, lets get over it and get on with life and building a just and decent country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Immigrants made America what is is today

    Life liberty and freedom was the dream

    Same for Canada


    That's why generations have come to North America,specifically USA and Canada

    Lest we forget eh

    ReplyDelete
  3. The press and the left are smearing Donald Trump’s executive orders which restrict travel from terrorist hot spots and suspends the refugee program as a “Muslim ban”.

    It’s not.

    But there is a secret behind the order and it’s connected to the Obama administration.

    The order restricts travel and the issuance of new visas from seven nations – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

    Writing on CNN, Kyle Blaine and Julia Horowitz and at mic.com Sarah Harvard explains these seven nations were not picked at random.

    They were chosen from a 2015 bill which was signed into law by Barack Obama.

    Harvard writes:

    “HOW, THOUGH, DID THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CHOOSE THESE SEVEN MUSLIM-MAJORITY COUNTRIES? THE TRUTH IS IT DIDN’T: THE COUNTRIES WERE CHOSEN DURING BARACK OBAMA’S PRESIDENCY.

    ACCORDING TO THE DRAFT COPY OF TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER, THE COUNTRIES WHOSE CITIZENS ARE BARRED ENTIRELY FROM ENTERING THE UNITED STATES IS BASED ON A BILL THAT OBAMA SIGNED INTO LAW IN DECEMBER 2015.

    OBAMA SIGNED THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT AND TERRORIST TRAVEL PREVENTION ACT AS PART OF AN OMNIBUS SPENDING BILL. THE LEGISLATION RESTRICTED ACCESS TO THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM, WHICH ALLOWS CITIZENS FROM 38 COUNTRIES WHO ARE VISITING THE UNITED STATES FOR LESS THAN 90 DAYS TO ENTER WITHOUT A VISA…

    …THOUGH OUTSIDE GROUPS SUCH AS THE AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION AND NIAC ACTION — THE SISTER ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL IRANIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL — OPPOSED THE ACT, THE BIPARTISAN BILL PASSED THROUGH CONGRESS WITH LITTLE PUSHBACK.

    AT THE INITIAL SIGNING OF THE RESTRICTIONS, FOREIGNERS WHO WOULD NORMALLY BE DEEMED ELIGIBLE FOR A VISA WAIVER WERE DENIED IF THEY HAD VISITED IRAN, SYRIA, SUDAN OR IRAQ IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS OR HELD DUAL CITIZENSHIP FROM ONE OF THOSE COUNTRIES.

    IN FEBRUARY 2016, THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ADDED LIBYA, SOMALI AND YEMEN TO THE LIST OF COUNTRIES ONE COULD NOT HAVE VISITED — BUT ALLOWED DUAL CITIZENS OF THOSE COUNTRIES WHO HAD NOT TRAVELED THERE ACCESS TO THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM. DUAL CITIZENS OF SYRIA, SUDAN, IRAQ, AND IRAN ARE STILL INELIGIBLE, HOWEVER.”
    In addition, Obama paused visa issuances for Iraqi refugees after a 2009 incident where two Iraqi refugees were arrested for plotting a terrorist attack.

    The media narrative in the wake of Trump’s order is that this is an unprecedented assault on American values.

    Pundits are also claiming Trump is only restricting travel in countries where he doesn’t have business interests in those nations.

    But those seven countries were already identified for travel restrictions by the Obama administration.

    The media is falsely smearing Trump’s order as a “Muslim ban”.

    It’s nothing of the sort.

    In fact, appearing on Morning Joe, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said this was not a “Muslim ban”.

    Trump did not just pick these countries out of thin air.

    Nor was there a conspiracy to ignore the countries where Trump does business.

    These seven countries were selected either for their lack of a functioning government, or because they’re a completely hostile regime and cannot be trusted to provide accurate vetting information on visa applicants.

    And this all started with a 2015 bill signed into law by Barack Obama himself.

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/29/politics/how-the-trump-administration-chose-the-7-countries/

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    Replies
    1. Obama never banned anyone from those countries from coming to the United States, Trump did. Obama never banned US residents and green card holders from returning to the US Trump did. He is solely responsible for that.

      The idea of Obama signing a bill is a good point about how bills become laws through the democratic process. Trump never followed that process.

      Obama submitted the Act and Congress approved it. The purpose of the act was to provide humanitarian aid to those countries without supporting terrorists like ISIS which is exactly what Hillary did:

      https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2029/text

      The purpose of the immigration section of that act was to issue passports to individuals from those countries who had lost or been denied passports for travel with a background check to make sure those individuals weren't terrorists:

      https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2029

      Delete
    2. Nice reply as is the one regarding the Moors. Muslim civilization was very advances while Europe worked its way through the Dark Ages. they had a far superior level of understand of medicine and their libraries were extremely important, with vast volumes of information. Most of Europe, except for the clergy didn't know how to read or write.

      Delete
  4. Irrespective of an immigrant's religious beliefs our countries have benefitted





    ReplyDelete

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