Jehron Muhammad: Trump part of larger trend to criminalize immigrants

"This order is a reflection of a larger trend in this country to criminalize black people, to criminalize immigrants, to criminalize Muslims." - Jehron Muhammad

President Barack Obama spent his last days in office dismantling a homeland security program created to track immigrants from Muslim-majority countries and conditionally lifting sanctions imposed on Sudan.

Contrast that with the first days of President Donald Trump administration.  It unleashed a sweeping attack on the travel rights of persons from seven majority Muslim countries, including Sudan. That has included, "turning away travelers at multiple U.S. airports and leaving others stranded, in some cases, without answers — and without hope — across the world," according to The Intercept news site.

Amnesty International's Naureen Shah, an American Muslim and human rights advocate, "is hoping against hope" that the Trump Administration does not reassemble the program.

Out-going African Union Chair Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma "acknowledged the importance" of Obama's move, "which will allow Sudan to reengage in international trade."

This move, which will be reevaluated in six months by the Trump administration, enables much needed trade and investment. It comes in recognition of Sudan's collaboration with the U.S. to curtail terrorism and its efforts to improve humanitarian access.

The genesis of President Trump's Muslim ban can be seen on his campaign websites pledge to establish a "commission on radical Islam," allegedly to expose "the networks in our society that support radicalization." It can also be found in former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's recent interview where he said President Trump asked him about the process of legally implementing a "Muslim ban."

President Trump's very public use of the executive order appears to be the first salvo of him keeping his campaign promise to create a Muslim registry.  He also noted during his inaugural speech that he was committed to eradicating Islamist terrorists "from the face of the earth."

This assault on civil liberties, targeting refugees and asylum seekers fleeing devastating wars, as well as students with visas pursuing an education in the U.S., includes a multi-month ban on admissions into the U.S. The ban includes Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen until the State Department and Homeland Security can somehow reconfigure the vetting process.

"The president has the authority to limit refugee admissions and the issuance of visas to specific countries if it is determined to be in the public's interest," said Stephen Legomsky, formerly of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.  "From a legal standpoint, it would be exactly within his legal rights."

Legomsky, now a professor at Washington University's School of Law added, "But from a policy standpoint it would be a terrible idea because there is such an urgent humanitarian need right now for refugees."

Both former presidents Obama and George W. Bush were careful to avoid verbally painting all Muslims with the terrorist brush.  After Sept. 11, Mr. Bush visited a mosque to underline the need to respect Islam. Mr. Obama sent a similar message, even refusing to use the term "radical Islam."

Muslims and supporters are fighting back.

Supporters at more than 80 airports nationwide played host to demonstrations involving thousands protesting Trump's Muslim travel ban.  In addition, a sweeping lawsuit, filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), labels Trump's executive order as a "Muslim Exclusion Order," and argues against its constitutionality.  The suit alleges that the executive order violates First Amendment religious freedom protections and Fifth-Amendment guarantees of equal protection.

The lead plaintiff is Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American and one of three principal organizers of the recent Women's March on Washington.  Appearing on Democracy Now, she said, "The John and Jane Does are a lot more important than my name, but being able to put a public face as an American Muslim … because we will not allow Donald Trump to get away with this."

The response to the ban has gone global with the African Union commissioner, representing 53 African countries, at its annual summit in Addis Ababa expressing outrage. "This very country to which many of our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade has now decided to ban refugees from some of our countries," said Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

She could have been talking about Nisrin Elamin a Ph.D. student in anthropology at Stanford University and a Sudanese citizen. Elamin attempted to make it back to the U.S. before the president signed the executive order barring immigrants from her country.  By the time she landed at JFK airport on Friday, the order was in effect, and she was detained, questioned extensively, searched, including her groin area, and handcuffed.

"I think this order is a reflection of a larger trend in this country to criminalize black people, to criminalize immigrants, to criminalize Muslims," she said. "And as a black Muslim immigrant, I'm really concerned about that. And I do think that the Somalis and Sudanese, people of African descent who are going to be affected by this … they're going to be treated differently."