US visa ban & right of a sovereign nation

President Trump’s 7-nation visa ban is totally legitimate and the right of a sovereign nation. It’s completely legal & constitutional. While a federal judge for reasons unknown can give a temporary stay on the presidential order, no court can stall a constitutionally valid presidential order of a rightfully elected President of the United States.

Trump administration’s decision is an extension of an earlier order by President Obama. The 7-nation visa waiver programme was proposed by President Obama during his term. The selection of the 7 Muslim majority nations was President Obama’s decision. No one was protesting on the streets over that decision during his term.

However, when a temporary entry ban of 90 days on these 7 nations & 120 day ban on all inbound refugees is announced by Trump administration, it is brazenly twisted as ‘Muslim Ban,’ ‘Attack on pluralism,’ ‘Anti-Immigrant’ and all hell breaks loose.

How deviant & conspiring is the plot? The way some sections of US and global media are playing out this story and subsequent manufactured protests across the world has further lowered the credibility and respect for the mainstream media. It is also exposing media’s shallow understanding of fundamentals of an elected government’s authority and its constitutional rights to make decisions.

All the hue and cry both inside and outside USA is a manufactured dissent. It’s both a knee jerk & ill-intentioned reaction by full time protesters, only driven with inherent hate for President Trump & Republican Party. It also highlights the sheer ignorance of the power of elected governments and US constitution by these misguided groups.

Even restaurants across the street have a ‘right to admission.’ All nations with no exception have conditional admission to foreigners into their land. There’s no ‘free for all’ in the world we live in today. Expecting USA to have open borders and free for all is to live in a fool’s paradise. So far this nation has been certainly the most exploited one in the entire world, in reference to opportunities to immigrants.

USA is truly a land of opportunity on this planet. Millions of immigrants built their dream lives in this nation for decades. However, demanding more from a nation, especially at a time when its own safety & security is at risk amounts to rank opportunism. It’s like the story of goose and the golden egg. If there is no USA, where’s the option of having a land of opportunity? It’s the responsibility of all immigrants, who exploited this great nation for realising their life’s dreams, to protect its national interests, than abusing it.

The immigrant groups who are abusing the President of USA and his administration are a bunch of loonies and thankless people who don’t value what they have drawn from this great nation as foreigners. Most of those who immigrated to this land did so, for want of opportunities from across the world. They live way superior life styles in USA, than they would in their mother land. Many immigrants live an ‘American Dream,’ which is far sighted for millions of local Americans.

Today, if the same folks are standing along with few detractors of USA, to shout slogans against its elected President & roll on the streets, it is quite shameful. It highlights their lack of gratitude and loyalty to the same nation which has given them livelihood. USA and its elected government have complete and unquestionable rights and authority to allow or disallow who they choose to, into their sovereign nation. All sovereign nations inclusive of kingdoms have their exclusive rights over entry and exit.

It’s deplorably silly and inexplicably juvenile to cry foul over decisions which are legitimately constitutional in the interest of one’s own nation. President Trump has all the necessary authority and has followed an established process provided by the constitution to make these decisions. Partisan paid media, political protesters, left wing perennial dissenters and few confused millennials cannot undo decisions made by a nation, in its interest of safety & security. President Trump neither needs to explain nor needs to slow down his decision process for these deflectors. The protesters’ prime agenda is to mislead and confuse.

“If you help once, it’s a favour. If you help again & again, it becomes your duty.” This adage suits USA well now. Policy decisions by successive governments to help those facing political, religious and economic persecution across the world through refugee programme has now become a liability to USA. It faces imminent threat from few inbound immigrants & refugees.

A nation should be free to implement or not implement even a humanitarian policy based on a new threat perception to their nation’s safety, security & integrity. If that fundamental freedom to review their policies to help others in the world is challenged, a nation might do a complete rethink on whether they should even extend any help in the first place.

Helping others in the world cannot be forced on a nation, it has to be a choice. Values of humanism of a nation cannot be at the cost of losing lives of their own nationals. President Trump 7-nation ban is not a ‘Muslim Ban’ from any angle. Anyone who exercises choice to think objectively without prejudice can understand it. It’s not even a permanent ban.

It’s an administrative decision to keep a temporary stop to the inflows for the review of immigration policy by a newly elected government. Exaggerating the implication of this decision or trying to stall it through street fights and court battles can only build more complexity than resolve.

One can call President Trump names, critique him, protest globally, make shallow TV arguments, indulge in deviant and partisan political commentary, fight him in courts, but cannot stop him from making decisions for his nation, as an elected President of the USA. (Views expressed in this article are personal. This article is written in Krishna’s professional capacity as an international strategist)

By Krishna Saagar Rao