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“It’s working out very nicely.”
That was Trump’s response to the chaos that engulfed US airports over the weekend after he signed an executive order blocking foreigners from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US.
The decision saw families ripped apart at the border and thousands of protestors swarm American airports chanting “Let them in”. Meanwhile lawyers from around the country found themselves hunched on airport floors across the country hastily filing ad hoc motions in support of stranded immigrants.
If that’s one of Trump’s policies working out “very nicely”, we’d hate to see one that goes wrong.
And despite Trump’s assurances, it’s increasingly apparent that his ban on immigration has had unintended – and in cases heartbreaking – consequences….
Local “fixers” and their families are in jeopardy
In trouble spots around the world, journalists and the military rely upon “fixers”, translators and drivers to help them navigate dangerous territory. Often these locals risk their lives – and their families’ lives –in return for a promise that they will be resettled in the US. As veteran reporter Janine Di Giovanni wrote in Newsweek, these promises have all been broken with the flourish of Trump’s pen.
And if that isn’t compelling enough, consider this heartbreaking series of tweets from a US military veteran. (BYO tissues)
There will be at least one no-show at the Oscars
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi is nominated for an Oscar for his film The Salesman. However, the ban means that Farhadi, who won the Oscar for best Foreign Language film in 2012, won’t be able to attend the ceremony in February. He has since said that he wouldn’t attend the ceremony even if an exception were granted.
The science world is suffering
Several Iranian scientists – including some working on tuberculosis research – have been blocked from entering the US. Worth noting that it was an Iranian scientist who helped uncover how Ebola is transmitted. Who needs vaccines anyway?
Australian dual citizens have been thrown into confusion
There are fears that Australian dual-national citizens could be caught up in the ban – although a statement by the British government suggests that the ban will only apply to travellers who are flying from one of the seven banned countries.
The ban has reawakened memories for Jewish people
It didn’t go unnoticed that Trump’s immigration ban was announced on National Holocaust Remembrance Day. The move has also prompted many Jewish commentators to point out that turning away refugees from Syria is the modern equivalent to turning away Jews fleeing the Holocaust. Some have recalled the case of a German ocean filled with 937 Jewish refugees that was turned away from the US in 1939 and sent back to Europe – where 254 of the passengers were murdered in the Holocaust.
