What’s Behind Trump’s Travel Ban — And Why It’s Happening Now…See More

What’s Behind Trump’s Travel Ban — And Why It’s Happening Now…See More

US administration says order aims to keep America safe, but advocates say ‘arbitrary’ ban will keep families apart
Washington, DC – Donald Trump’s travel ban is the latest instalment in the United States president’s anti-immigration push, which plays to his right-wing base, advocates say, stressing that the order is not about public safety.

The decree, released late on Wednesday, bars and restricts travellers from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
While Trump has argued that the ban was put in place to protect the US from “foreign terrorists”, many believe the president has other motiva
The latest travel ban is absolutely part and parcel of the administration’s agenda to weaponise immigration laws to target people who are racial and religious minorities and people with whom they disagree,” said Laurie Ball Cooper, vice president for US legal programmes at the International Refugee Assistance
Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), said that while the administration is presenting the ban as related to vetting travellers, the move aims to “placate” Trump’s supporters.

“It’s the ‘tough on immigration’ stance that this administration has taken on a number of issues since coming into office,” Ayoub told Al Jazeera.