“We are excluding certain countries. But for other countries we’re gonna have extreme vetting. It’s going to be very hard to come in. Right now it’s very easy to come in. It’s gonna be very, very hard. I don’t want terror in this country. We’re going to have extreme vetting in all cases. And I mean extreme. And we’re not letting people in if we think there’s even a little chance of some problem.”
– Donald Trump #PotusOnABC
Barely five days into his administration, President Donald Trump has made his first move at implementing his much-publicised immigration policies by banning refugees from at least six countries classified as danger zones. The president announced late Tuesday night via his Twitter account (@realdonaldtrump) that he was set for major security orders at a security meeting on Wednesday. He later granted an ABC News an interview where he explained his plans and how he seeks to protect Americans from the widespread exportation of terrorism in the world.
Donald Trump whose campaign was based almost entirely on his anti-immigration stance has had a rather busy first week as the president of the United States after signing at least five executive orders within his first three days. He had, during his campaigns, outlined his plans to keep a closed door United States by banning refugees from zones rife with terrorism and putting in place strict vetting for a number of others. He also stressed his plans to build a border wall between the US and Mexico as well as depot as much as 11 million undocumented immigrants. When quizzed on how he planned to do that, he famously replied, “We will set up a deportation army.”
Even though some of the policies outlined during the campaign have been described as merely populist tactics of winning votes during the election, his actions since he resumed at the Oval office has since shown he meant the words he uttered during the campaign. Most notably, he has begun the process of repealing Obamacare. He has also recently reinstated the global gag rule, making good his promised clampdown on abortion. These latest moves of Donald Trump, largely unpopular, have raised fresh doubts on the chances of African immigrants in the US and those hoping to move across the continent.
During the campaign, Trump initially proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States, in a bid to prevent terrorists gaining entrance into the country. There is, however, the possibility of legal charges if he goes ahead with the plan. A ban on Muslims, which would be interpreted as discrimination on religious grounds, contravenes the constitution of the United States. Both Trump and his nominee for attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions, have since said they would focus the restrictions on countries whose migrants could pose a threat, rather than a ban on those of a specific religion.
The order, which will see refugees from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, denied American visa, threatens the UN refugee settlement deal with Australia last year which was supposed to see over 1,000 refugees held up in Papua New Guinea resettled in the United States. The deportation arm of the new immigration order will see immigrants who arrived the US as children, immigrant parents of Americans, immigrants with criminal convictions, and workers and recent arrivals all be at risk of deportation.
While it appears Africans and people from the Middle East will be more affected, the new immigration law is in no way limited to the two regions. According to a statement Trump made during an interview on ABC News, countries which will escape the ban will face extreme vetting when applying for the American visa. The ultimate end is to make immigrating into America extremely difficult.
While Nigeria is as of now not on the list of banned countries, the wave of terrorist uprisings, especially from Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen, in the country makes Nigerians seeking a place in the United States a conspicuous target of the extreme vetting process. As a matter of fact, Nigerians, as well as a number of other African countries, will now find it difficult moving to the States.
With Trump still very much keen on his deportation plans for undocumented immigrants, and having recently failed to give any assurance of a possible let off for children of undocumented immigrants, a number of Nigerians might be in danger of deportation in coming months. The extent of the rigidity remains sketchy until Trump unveils the roadmap for his deportation program.
