The Trump administration is appealing the decision of Hawaii District Judge Derrick Watson who earlier last month blocked the administration’s executive order to temporarily shut the US borders to refugees, migrants and nationals travelling from six Muslim countries. Following the decision in the state of Hawaii, a judge in Maryland, over 40 former presidential advisers and attorney generals from 16 states have voiced their arguments against the travel ban on the basis that it would “wreak havoc” on national security and that it threatens innocent lives.
In response to the line of challenges facing the immigration ban, which the Trump administration claims was designed to counter the threat of extremists entering the US, Donald Trump has publicly denounced the ruling claiming the decision to be ‘unprecedented judicial overreach’ and motivated by an opposing political agenda. On March 6th Trump privately signed a revised order which amended restrictions to US citizens, Iraqis and Syrian Refugees, who had all been targeted in the original order, however restrictions to members of the six Islamic nations Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Somalia, Libya and Iran still remained. Not only has the travel ban prompted demonstrations both within the US and internationally, with rights groups and activists label the decision as discrimination and a clear infringement on human rights. The director of the Council for American-Islamic Relations stated the decision has pushed many families to flee to Canada. The total amount of asylum seekers entering Canada increased to 7,023 in 2016 and the northern neighbour of the US received 2,168 applications at the beginning of 2017. Many of the remaining refugees in the US hold fears about immigration raids, and the impact that the ban will have on their ability to reconnect with their families. Others also live in fear of hate crimes or deportation, with many afraid to speak up, effectively being silenced due to their fear, rejecting interviews by the media.
Jesika Ha’angana
Student at University of Sydney, Bachelor of Arts and Science.
