Don't take your eyes off the ball, folks. Just because you haven't heard much about the Trump administration's Muslim ban doesn't mean they're not working to make it a reality. They are quietly following through on Trump's promise of “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
It can be a struggle in daily conversations to explain the real life impact this election has every day on the decisions being made to govern our society. This election has put numerous individuals in positions of real, tangible power who are spending every hour of every day implementing policies in an efficient, destructive manner. They are doing the exact things their prior words, actions, and lobbyist bosses should have made obvious.
Conservatives and Trump were rejoicing on Monday, June 26, 2017 and claiming a victory on the U.S. Supreme Court's opinion issued that day. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in cases appealed from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and granted a stay of certain parts of the preliminary injunctions that stopped Trump's immigration ban from going into effect. If you don't know exactly what the previous sentence means, you are not alone. Let's break down what the Supreme Court "opinion" means.
The White House is changing the purpose of the “Countering Extremism Program” which is a Department of Homeland Security program dedicated to combating ALL types of extremist ideologies. The DHS announced changes to the $10 million grant program that will take money away from groups that work to combat domestic-based extremism (neo-Nazi / KKK), diverting those funds solely to fighting Islamist extremism-related groups.
As more of Trump's regime get comfortable in their new positions of power for which they have little to no qualification, they find new ways to move ahead with the heinous ideas they believe the country empowered them to undertake. They spend every day crafting and implementing policies with destructive consequences for our country, our world and our future.
This White House has issued executive orders related to enhanced immigration enforcement and its Department of Justice has instructed staff to act as aggressively as possible. Several prior Smart Dissent stories will get you up to speed:
The White House signed an second Muslim Ban executive order on March 6th intending to achieve the same effects as the first one which was rejected. The second one was also rejected on March 15th.
BE SMART ABOUT is an important series highlighting examples of those in power (or in danger of acquiring power) who you need to stay informed about so you can share this knowledge and together we can Be Smart and Actively Dissent.
Last week, cities and counties listed in a 2016 report for not complying fully with federal immigration authorities were issued letters by the Department of Justice to get in line or lose funding. This followed up an executive order in January promising significantly further action.
The recipients of the letters were warned that as a condition of receiving 2016 grants, they must certify by June 30 that they were in compliance with the law.
It can be a struggle in daily conversations to explain the real life impact this election has every day on the decisions being made to govern our society. This election has put numerous individuals in positions of real, tangible power who are spending every hour of every day implementing policies in an efficient, destructive manner. They are doing the exact things their prior words, actions, and lobbyist bosses should have made obvious.