Thread by @doug_rand

The new #TravelBan proclamation is a word salad of nonsensical cruelty.

Let's start with the fact that there is no rational connection between the alleged risk (national security threat) and the actual policy (blocking permanent residents). 1/

whitehouse.gov/presidential-a…

The first #TravelBan blocks both #immigrant visas (permanent residents) & "nonimmigrant" visas (temporary visitors) from several Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria & Yemen).

It's a terrible policy, but the new ban is weirder still. 2/

travel.state.gov/content/travel…

Someone seeking permanent residency (aka "immigrant visa" aka "green card") goes through *way more vetting* than someone seeking a temporary visitor visa.

So why does the new #TravelBan block only permanent residents, not temporary visitors? 3/

"...because of the challenges of removing an individual in the US who was admitted with an immigrant visa if, after admission to the US, the individual is discovered to have terrorist connections, criminal ties, or misrepresented information."

This makes very little sense. 4/

If a permanent resident in the US is found to be a terrorist, criminal, or fraudster, the gov't has enough tools to eject them.

So what's really going on? Here's a clue... 5/

In the new #TravelBan, all permanent residents are blocked from some countries (Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria). But only a subset—Diversity Visa lottery winners—are blocked from other countries (Tanzania, Sudan). 6/

Tanzania & Sudan "were among the highest risk countries, but performed somewhat better than others," & blocking only Diversity Visas is "a less severe limit compared to a general restriction on immigrant visas, given the significantly fewer number of aliens affected." 7/

If your country scores low on the "refined performance metrics for the identity-management and information-sharing criteria," we block all your #immigrants.

Get a slightly higher score, & we block just the immigrants in Trump's least-favorite program. 8/
apnews.com/56e8c95dab1345…

The White House barely pretends that there's a connection between its national security concerns & the actual human beings barred from entering by the #TravelBan.

Instead, the proclamation provides a play-by-play of using these human beings as a bargaining chip in diplomacy. 9/

*Rank countries by compliance w/ criteria the public can't see
*ID the worst performers
*Give Iraq & "another similarly situated country" (Afghanistan) a pass (so DOD doesn't flip out)
*ID 12 countries for collective punishment
*Extract unspecified concessions from 6 of them
10/

*Inflict collective punishment on the remaining 6 countries "until those countries address their identified deficiencies," i.e. "incentivizing those foreign governments to improve their practices."

Surely there are more direct & effective ways to incentivize a foreign govt. 11/

It's *possible* the #TravelBan threat compelled some countries to improve transborder security measures.

But let's be real—that's a fig leaf.

Trump promised to ban Muslims, limit "chain migration," & end diversity visas. The #TravelBan lets him do a victory lap on all 3. 12/

Nigeria must be furious. Iraq gets a pass due to "a close cooperative relationship b/t the US & the democratically elected gov't...the strong US diplomatic presence...the significant presence of US forces...& commitment to combating ISIS."

What is Boko Haram, chopped liver? 13/

One more weird thing: "DHS also consolidated statistical info on operational encounters with foreign nationals. This info speaks to the frequency with which a country’s nationals commit offenses while in the US or otherwise develop grounds for inadmissibility."

"Speaks to"?
14/

That sounds like serious bureaucratic bet-hedging language to me. If the public actually had access to the full data & the so-called "algorithm" upon which the whole #TravelBan relies, we'd probably find all kinds of sloppy reasoning & invalid generalizations. 15/

Again, Trump vowed to ban Muslims, limit "chain migration," & end diversity visas.

He infamously expressed a preference for #immigrants from Europe over Africa.

Steven Miller heaps praise upon the 1924 immigration act, which completely excluded immigrants from Asia.

16/

These are the policy goals of the #TravelBan. 1924-style bans on entire countries.

Meanwhile an enormous federal bureaucracy is tying itself in knots trying to make it all look legit.

But if your primary goal were national security, you'd target individuals, not nations.

17/

At the very very least, can we all agree it's un-American to prevent US citizens from living with their spouses, their children, their parents—just because of where these loved ones happened to be born?

#TravelBan
18/18

forbes.com/sites/stuartan…