thoughts on the refugee ban

January 29, 2017 2:06pm CST
The problem with Trump's refugee ban is that it's a blunt instrument. There's no way to know 100% who the terrorist is going to be until they actually go out and committed violent acts, so blocking everyone across the board is collective punishment, it holds the majority of refugees responsible for the horrible behavior of a radicalized minority. But then on the other end of the spectrum we have the moral posturing of liberals like Elizabeth Warren, which makes the correct assertion that targeting a particular religious group is unconstitutional, but simultaneously sweeps reasonable concerns about anti-Western political terrorism under the rug as "something only right wing bigots worry about". If they mention it at all. We have already seen these dynamics play out in Europe where mass immigration has lead to a ramping up of social tensions which has fueled the rise of right wing parties as leftists have been slow to admit that their open borders policies have resulted in a Europe divided into mutually hostile ethnic camps. I wish I had a solution to this dilemma, but to be honest I don't have much to offer beyond saying that I'm not happy with either the Democrats or the Republicans on this matter.
4 people like this
1 response
@Mike197602 (15490)
• United Kingdom
29 Jan 17
He's not just banning refugees he's banning anyone from a list of countries. I think it's a silly thing to do and will alienate most of the civilised world...but he's doing exactly what he said he would do which is rare for someone in political office. Here in Europe open borders is a big issue...the US doesn't have anything remotely like open borders. In the UK most terrorist incidents have been perpetrated by UK citizens. This ban stops people from certain countries coming to the US for 90 days or whatever...it is going to have 0 impact on home grown terror.
4 people like this
29 Jan 17
It's a ham-fisted policy, and neither side seems to have a solution to the problem of terrorism outside of populist rhetoric.
1 person likes this
@suziecat7 (3350)
• Asheville, North Carolina
29 Jan 17
I agree.
2 people like this