Joseph T. Kassab, 64, of Farmington Hills, is photographed in his office on Thursday, November 10, 2016, in West Bloomfield. Kassab is the Founder and President of the Iraqi Christian Advocacy and Empowerment Institute. During the elections, Kassab was an active member of the Trump Coalition of the Middle Eastern community in Michigan. (Photo: Salwan Georges, Detroit Free Press)
ishtartv.com - freep.com
Niraj Warikoo ,
Detroit Free Press, March 6, 2017
The
revamped executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday banning some
travelers drew mixed reaction in metro Detroit's Middle Eastern communities,
with some Iraqi-Americans praising it while others saying it continues to
discriminate against immigrants and visitors from six Muslim-majority nations.
Trump's
new order is aimed at travelers from Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Iran, Libya, and
Sudan, but it excludes Iraq, which was on the original order signed last
month that sparked protests and lawsuits,
including one filed in Detroit by the Arab American Civil Rights League.
The
U.S. has the "right to control who enters our country and keep out those
who would do us harm," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a
live-streamed press conference announcing the new order. The orders
"provide a needed pause so we can carefully review how we scrutinize
people."
The
new document bans all visitors from the six nations for 90 days and halts
taking in all refugees for 120 days. It also slashes the number of
refugees admitted into the U.S. for fiscal year 2017 to 50,000.
Last year, the U.S. took in about 85,000, with Michigan taking in one of the
highest number of Syrian refugees. As president, Barack Obama had said
last year he wanted to increase the number of refugees in fiscal year 2017 to
110,000.
The
decision to remove Iraq was praised by Iraqi-American Christian leaders in
metro Detroit who worried the initial order in January would prevent many
Iraqis from coming to the U.S. Iraqis make up the largest group among
Middle Eastern immigrants in Michigan, which has the highest percentage of
residents with roots in the Arab world among states in the U.S.
"We
are very much happy" with the new order, said Joseph Kassab, founder and
CEO of the Iraqi Christians Advocacy and Empowerment Institute in West
Bloomfield. "This is very welcoming news, especially for those from the
minority communities in Iraq who are not terrorists. They are victims of
terrorists."
Kassab
said he supporters the order because "we have a right to know who's entering
our country." Kassab said he also supports the order "because it's
time-limited" and opens the door for later admitting people after
proper security checks.
"There
are good people" from the six countries, "but extreme vetting is very
important because we don't know who is disguising the refugees and who is
not," Kassab said. "I think it is wise for everybody to be
vetted. If he's a good person, it doesn't matter where he is coming from as
long as he passes extreme vetting."
Other
Arab-American leaders criticized the new order, saying it's still
biased despite some changes, such as excluding permanent residents from
the travel ban.
"You're
still discriminating, still violating the First Amendment," said Nabih
Ayad, a Detroit attorney who is founder of the Arab American Civil Rights
League. "This new order is not going to cure the unconstitutional defects
in the original order."
Ayad
will continue with a lawsuit filed against the original order last month,
amending its complaint to cite the revamped order.
At
the press conference, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the new
order "will bolster the security of the United State and her
allies."
Ayad
disagreed, saying the order "doesn't make the nation any
stronger. You're highlighting a certain class of people and marginalizing a
group of people, Muslims and Arabs."
The
order makes it easier for groups like ISIS to recruit, Ayad said, by
making it easier to argue that the U.S. is anti-Muslim.
"You're
making it so much easier for terrorist organizations to recruit new
members," Ayad said. "They're being the PR machine for the terrorists
by making such ridiculous orders."
U.S.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), whose district includes a sizable
Arab-American community, said in a statement: “Today’s executive order is
simply an attempt to repackage the administration’s harmful and
unconstitutional ban on Muslims and refugees. ... this is the same ban that
targets individuals based on their region and flies in the face of our
Constitution."
Dingell
said "this ban endangers our national security and dishonors our
Constitution and everything our nation stands for. This is not the America I
was raised to believe in.”
Lena
Masri, an attorney from Michigan who is national litigation director of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the order "appears to be
merely a retooled order aimed at the same long-stated goal of banning Muslims
from entering the United States."
James
Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said the new order is
"more of the same. ... Nothing has really changed."
"They
have gutted the refugee program ... and they are still banning individuals from
our shores based on their national origin and faith."
Martin
Manna, an Iraqi-American Christian advocate who is president of the Chaldean
Community Foundation in Sterling Heights, said "while Iraq has been
removed from the list, we are deeply concerned about members of our community
being deported to Iraq. Because of their religion, this may become a death
sentence."
Manna
added that we "do not support any executive orders that target
particular racial, ethnic or religious groups. We have long advocated for a
fair and just immigration policy for all new Americans."
Manna
hopes that more Christians and other religious minorities from Iraq can be
allowed to enter the U.S.
"Under
the Obama administration, there was a huge disparity in the number of
Middle-Eastern Christians being allowed to migrate to the United States,"
Manna said. "We are hopeful that future policies will help prioritize victims
of persecution and genocide, which has historically been the case in this
Country.
"Like
many others, we are very concerned about the impact this executive
order will have on many families in this area."
Secretary
of the Department of Homeland Security John Kelly defended the order at the
press conference, referencing the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"Today's
executive order will make America more secure," Kelly said.
Secretary
Kelly also said that his department would "enforce (the order) humanely
... and with professionalism."
Detroit Attorney Nabih Ayad addresses the media in front of U.S. District Court in Detroit after filing a federal lawsuit on Tuesday, Jan 31, 2017 on behalf of green card holders who are trapped overseas following President Trump's travel ban. (Photo: Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press)
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell speaks alongside senators and members of the Michigan congressional delegation during a rally to stand up and save healthcare. (Photo: Elaine Cromie, Detroit Free Press)
|