{"id":15350,"date":"2017-09-01T13:31:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-01T17:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=15350"},"modified":"2018-12-28T12:39:04","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T17:39:04","slug":"misleading-public-dumping-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2017\/09\/01\/misleading-public-dumping-trump\/","title":{"rendered":"Misleading the Public, Dumping on Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Washington Post<\/em> recently ran a guest column titled \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s Refugee Ban Is Splitting Our Family Apart<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 It purports to be a critique of the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies, from a family that has been negatively affected. Authored by Todd and Tianna Rooney, of Brighton, Michigan, the article is filled with misleading assertions. And it\u2019s the kind of ideological propaganda<\/a> one would expect to find in a Democratic Party newsletter, not in the paper-of-record for our nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

To start with, the title is misleading. The Rooney family isn\u2019t actually being separated at all. The refugee in question isn\u2019t their son. And Mr. and Mrs. Rooney have never met the young man. They admit as much: \u201cIn late May, we were thrilled to hear from Lutheran Immigration Refugee Services about the identity of our future son that we had been dreaming about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their \u201cson\u201d is a sixteen-year-old Eritrean refugee they refer to as \u201cK,\u201d who is allegedly residing in an Egyptian refugee camp. And, according to the Rooneys, their dear \u201cK\u201d is a harmless victim. They just don\u2019t understand why anyone would fear refugees or want to delay his admission to the United States. While the Rooney\u2019s should be commended for their willingness to open their home to a child in need, they seem remarkably unable to comprehend<\/a> the need to balance America\u2019s humanitarian obligations against the safety and security of the American public.<\/p>\n

In fact, in their eyes, the so-called \u201cTrump travel ban\u201d isn\u2019t about national security. It\u2019s about demonizing refugees. They state, \u201cOver and over, Trump has attempted to convince U.S. citizens that refugees should be feared \u2014 however, as is typical of our president, there is simply no data to support this.\u201d The clear implication is that President Trump is just a big, mean racist, who picks on refugee kids.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t jive with reality. Young men, ostensibly fleeing persecution, have consistently been let into the United States, without sufficient vetting<\/a>, because of foolish politically correct arguments<\/a> like those advanced<\/a> by the Rooney family. And they have consistently threatened the safety of everyday Americans: Tamerlan Tsarnaev<\/a>, Dzhokar Tsarnaev, Abdul Razak Ali Artan<\/a>, and the list goes on.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s temporary moratorium on refugee admissions, and travel from countries with poor vetting, was the first realistic effort to find a durable solution to the security problems that have plagued American immigration programs in the post-9\/11 world. It was a legitimate exercise of statutory authority, and it should never have been blocked<\/a> by any reviewing court.<\/p>\n

Yes, the so-called \u201cban\u201d may inconvenience the Rooneys and \u201cK.\u201d But those inconveniences must be balanced against the safety of millions of everyday Americans who want to attend college or watch a sporting event without fear of being run over or blown up by people who should never have been in the U.S. in the first place. Do the Rooneys really want \u201cK\u201d to live in a U.S.A. where he\u2019s not any safer than he was at home?