Bizarre, Constitutional Law, International, Politics, Religion

Trump Calls For “Total and Complete Shutdown” of Muslims Entering The United States

495px-Donald_Trump_by_Gage_SkidmoreIn a truly shocking and facially unconstitutional plan, Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump is calling for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the United States. The plan would violate a host of domestic and international protections, as I discussed today with the Washington Post.


Trump stated that “[i]t is obvious to anybody the hatred [among Muslims] is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why, we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”

Trump said he would ease the ban in the case of Muslims serving in the U.S. military and allow them to return home. that is still well short of constitutional — or rational — plan. For Muslim citizens, such a plan would be grossly unconstitutional under the first and fifth amendments. The latter prohibits The depriving of individuals of “life, liberty, or property,” without due process of the law and an implicit guarantee of equal protection of the laws.

It is certainly true that the constitutional protections often turn on whether someone is consider a “person” under the United States Constitution. In Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), the Supreme Court struck down a Texas statute denying funding for education to unauthorized immigrant children. Being present within the United States does afford protections of due process and equal protection. Outside of the country immigrants without resident status face a more difficult challenge. However, international law and conventions afford protections for travel and religion.

The law would harken back to the disgraceful period of the Chinese Exclusion laws. We have long rejected immigration limits based discriminatory classes of this kind. Indeed, the Immigration and Nationality Act protects potential refugees facing “fear of persecution” on account of their “religion.” Yet under President Trump we would now formally impose such a discriminatory element, a move that would make the United States a pariah around the world and immediately extinguish our relations with Islamic countries.

Immigration policy has cleared resonated as a draw for Trump. However, this proposal would openly embrace raw prejudice and blind rage as motivating factors for governmental policy. It would clearly fail in denying reentry for citizens or residents. As for non-citizens abroad, they are accorded protections under international law. Under Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, people have the right to leave or enter a country and that “everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” There is no doubt murky aspects to such rights and a long-standing question of their enforceability. However, this proposal rests on flagrant religious discrimination against one group. It seeks to “protect” the United States by denying the very essence of who we are as a nation.

250 thoughts on “Trump Calls For “Total and Complete Shutdown” of Muslims Entering The United States”

  1. Can we exclude all members of the Nazi Party? Can we exclude all members of the ISIL Party?
    All members of the Mexican Mafia? It goes on. All muslims sounds like a broad brush. But they are too difficult to sort out. Few condemn the ISIL terrorists. We dont need any here. They are not tired, poor or huddled masses.

  2. TRUMP IS A LYING ZIONIST
    Trump is complicit in the cover up of 9/11
    On CSPAN: Architects and Engineers Explain Why 9/11 was a Controlled Demolition Event
    3 TOWERS WERE DESTROYED BY CONTROLLED DEMOLITION ON 9/11
    Interview with architect Richard Gage representing 2200 Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth
    U.S. Governments / Courts / Media are Covering Up Evidence of this Mass Murder and Maiming. They are complicit.
    https://youtu.be/2zY9HfwzGPg

  5. Patriot (@musicman27103) – “Ask Trump if he believes the official 9/11 story. He will LIE because he belongs to Israeli Zionists. He belongs to the enemies of our country.”

    He’d probably say that two separate planes hit the Twin Towers causing structural damage and mass fire. The resulting heat, caused the compromised structures to fail resulting in the collapse of the buildings.

    I don’t know how old you are Patriot, but, there is plenty of live video that captured the whole thing. Some even capture the airplanes hitting the buildings. There’s no reason to ask Trump this question since if you look, the answer is already known.

  6. I’ve previously been banned from posting on jonathanturley.org for saying things far less offensive than those numerous postings by the person who goes by the Orwellian name of “Patriot” (i.e., Orwellian because the very opposite of his name is true). But, as this website is slanted to the left, “Patriot” is, of course, free to express his Islamonazi or David Duke-style perspectives.

  7. po – “As I said before, the most tolerant country in the world? Senegal, 92% Muslim.”

    I wounder what it’s like to be one of the 8% and not live in a closet.

  8. I thank you Po. Until recently, you’ve defended Islam simply as a peaceful religion. Now you’ve moved beyond that in explaining it’s a civilized, 7th century sort of peaceful religion.

    I know we have many people in this country that give lip service to our constitution being the supreme law of the land. Do you believe all of those 2 million Americans that identify as Muslims should support our constitution as the supreme law?

  10. I don’t think it’s an accident that Trump, the showman, is making the rest of the Republicans seem rational and reasonable (they aren’t). How long before JEB emerges as the really sane, rational, reasonable candidate because so many have been traumatized by the fascism of Trump and are looking for something just a bit better. JEB is just a bit better, just a tiny bit.

  11. “Which proves my point that radicalization is a political issue that responds to political anger, namely at the destruction the West wrought upon the ME.”

    Po,
    Let me translate that for you: “Mine is a peaceful, civilized religion and if you mess with us, we’ll kill you!”

    1. Olly, that applies to EVERYTHING! Everyone is a peaceful, civilized person until they feel to be messed with, and then they look to kill you. Happened this year at the tune of 353 such events…only 2, I must remind you of again, were by Muslims….to match the two by Paul.

      Considering the 2 million Muslims in the US, I say those 2 fall within the realm of the exception that confirms the rule that Muslims are not anymore violent than you are.

      Considering also the number of Muslims killed by the West, I say Muslims deserve kudos for restraint.

      1. po – you are playing with numbers again. Only two mass murders were identified as Muslim, the majority of shootings were unknown (could be Muslims, could not be Muslims, who knows)

    1. KFC, thanks for making my point.
      Had you really reviewed what the poll says, you’d have seen the obvious, that the rate of approval tends to go down the more stable the country is.
      Which proves my point that radicalization is a political issue that responds to political anger, namely at the destruction the West wrought upon the ME.

      As I said before, the most tolerant country in the world? Senegal, 92% Muslim.
      haha

      Keep justifying current and future antisemitism by justifying current islamophobia.

  15. ASK TRUMP ABOUT THIS, HE WILL LIE.
    9/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB!
    2200 Architects and Engineers are telling us the U.S. Government is Lying about 9/11
    The U.S. Government is complicit in the murders of 9/11
    3 NYC SKYSCRAPERS WERE DESTROYED BY CONTROLLED DEMOLITION ON 9/11
    Our enemy does not want you to know about the 3rd building, WTC 7. It was not hit by a plane
    This issue exposes the wide and deep corruption of the governments, courts and media.
    https://youtu.be/kQ2iVymP7hA

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