Reply to peer CD: I struggled to agree completely with either answer provided in this discussion. I do believe that is necessary and legal to ban visas from certain countries at times, but I do not feel the same about banning visas based on culture. President Trump’s travel ban, regardless of assumed intent, was written as a temporary order until a better plan could be put in place. According to Earl Maltz (2018), “Trump issued an executive order aimed at temporarily banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries while the U.S. government reviewed and strengthened its procedures for vetting potential entrants (p. 393).” I do not see an issue banning visas from countries that are terrorist hotbeds temporarily while vetting procedures are improved. In my opinion the fact that those countries are predominantly Muslim is irrelevant, the order was designed to garner better communication and security sharing between nations. Maltz (2018) further states, “The proclamation purported to target travelers from nations that were either unwilling or unable to share sufficient information with the United States about their citizens, did not cooperate with the United States government on immigration matters, or were linked to terrorism (p. 395).” This makes the travel ban necessary to maintain the safety of Americans at home. The travel ban was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court; therefore, the ban was legal under the Constitution.
It should also be considered that President Trump is not the first U.S. President to ban visas from a foreign country. President Carter banned all Iranian visas during the Iranian Hostage Crisis and President Reagan blocked immigration from Cuba (Barrow, 2018, p. 698-699). U.S. Presidents must make decisions on national security and are permitted under the law to suspend immigration. Without trying to create a side debate, the current administration enforced travel bans for Covid in the interest of public health and safety. I believe that Presidents can and should enact temporary bans when it is necessary for national security. However, these bans have the possibility of enflaming the groups that it seeks to protect Americans from.
Although I agree that banning visas from entire countries may be legal and necessary at times, the appearance of the ban specifically targeting Muslims has repercussions. According to Joseph Nye (2004), “When American policies lose their legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of others, attitudes of distrust tend to fester and further reduce our leverage (p. 257).” The countries subject to the travel ban enacted by President Trump targeted nations with a Muslim majority. If the population of the targeted countries took issue with the ban, there would be pressure placed on the governments not to cooperate with or assist the U.S. in strengthening the visa vetting process. The ban is working against itself in achieving its stated goals. Furthermore, reducing U.S. legitimacy within those nations increases support for terrorist groups that reside there.
Barrow, J. L. (2018). Trump’s Travel Ban: Lawful but Ill-Advised. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, 41(2), 691–717. https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=4242371c-959b-40e9-acef-7e7aa70135dcredis
Maltz, E. M. (2018). The Constitution and the Trump Travel Ban. Lewis & Clark Law Review, 22(2), 391–412. https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=4242371c-959b-40e9-acef-7e7aa70135dcredis
Nye Jr., J. S. (2004). Soft Power and American Foreign Policy. Political Science Quarterly (Academy of Political Science), 119(2), 255–270. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.2307/20202345
Reply to peer LD: It is my opinion that banning visas from certain countries and cultures is not necessary or legal in order to protect our country. While it is legal for the United States to create blanket policies against particular countries, it is not necessarily objectively morally correct. Let us say, for example, that the United Kingdom wanted to ban all visas from the United States because they were afraid that Americans would bring their dietary influences with them, meaning they do not want their nation to become generally obese and unhealthy, just as the United States is. Sounds ridiculous, right? That’s because it is indeed ridiculous. Granted, being eating unhealthily is not quite paralleled with terrorism, but the common point remains the same. It just seems ludicrous to ban an entire country’s people from entering another country based on the actions of a select few.