Less than 5 hours after his inauguration as the new president of the United States, and two hours after entering the White House, Joe Biden signed a set of executive orders, including stopping the travel ban imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump on entry to nationals of Arab and Islamic countries in America.
"Besides violating our values, these executive orders and announcements have undermined our national security, they have endangered our global network of alliances and partnerships," the text of Biden's executive order revoking the ban said.
Biden called in the executive order to improve screening of visitors wishing to visit the United States, by strengthening information exchange with foreign governments and other measures.
Biden signs executive orders in his office at the White House (European)
Target countries
4 years ago and during his first days of rule and in fulfillment of his electoral promises, Trump issued the ban decision in January 2017. This decision went through several stages of legal challenges and attempts to overturn and stop it through the American judiciary, until the Supreme Court intervened and settled the controversy supporting the decision in June 2018.
The citizens of several countries with a majority Muslim population were affected by the decision in its original form: Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Later, the number of countries decreased, as it was finally limited to the citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, in addition to North Korea and Venezuela, and then the Trump administration added the citizens of 6 other countries to its list of restricted countries, namely: Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania.
Trump has adhered to the travel ban policy to the United States since the start of his presidency (French)
Lifting the ban and sharing information.
Biden's executive order included that the State Department resume consideration of entry visa applications from countries that have been subject to the embargo, provided that Biden receives a report within 45 days on the issue of visa applicants that were hindered by the policies of the previous administration, and that those who were refused will be reconsidered. They are allowed to re-apply for entry visas.
The executive order stated that lifting the ban does not mean abandoning the traditional precautions and security measures that are known: in examining applicants for obtaining entry visas.
"Make no mistake, as there are threats to our nation, we will address them," and also, "Where there are opportunities to enhance the exchange of information with partners, we will follow them, and when visa applicants request entry to the United States, we will implement an examination and auditing system with all seriousness, but we will not turn our backs on our values by imposing a ban Discriminatory entry into the United States. "
Immigration militants believe it would be a mistake to end the travel ban entirely.
Jessica Vaughan, an expert at the Center for Immigration Studies, known for advocating lower rates of immigration, believes that the travel ban is putting pressure on foreign governments in countries such as Iran, Syria and Libya to improve their security and bureaucratic environment related to issuing travel documents and checking applicants for travel to the United States.
Many American cities in 2018 witnessed demonstrations rejecting entry to citizens of certain countries (Anatolia).
America’s values are not expressed
in a telephone statement with reporters, said Jack Sullivan, the new National Security Adviser, “This ban, which restricted the issuance of visas to individuals from many Muslim and African countries, was nothing less than a stain on our nation. The decision was rooted in expression. On xenophobia and religious enmity, President-elect Biden was clear that we will not turn our backs on our values with this discriminatory ban on entry to the United States. "
And Elizabeth Newman, a former Department of Homeland Security official, said, "The ban has damaged the reputation of the United States, it was an unnecessary distraction."
The ban was imposed during the first week of Trump's rule, 4 years ago, in fulfillment of his electoral pledges, and caused the dispersal of thousands of families from the aforementioned countries and stopped the travel of citizens of these countries to the United States.
An article published in the Washington Post indicated that the decision to cancel the ban should be supplemented with steps to reunite families who were separated due to the ban, by speeding up the consideration of visas for those who were refused or placed in a difficult administrative impasse.
He also referred to the refusal to issue visas to more than 41,000 people based on the embargo, and demanded compensation for the tremendous damage caused to individuals and families, including Americans.
"Kiir" praised Biden's move and saw that it paves the way for the abolition of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant policies (Al Jazeera)
They expect more
Following Biden’s executive order to cancel the ban on citizens of several Muslim countries, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), one of the largest American Islamic civil rights organizations, issued a statement supporting the president’s move.
"We commend President Biden for his immediate move to abolish the ban imposed on citizens of several Muslim and African countries, which is an important first step towards abolishing the anti-Muslim and immigrant policies that the previous administration had adopted, and it is an important achievement to implement what Biden pledged to American Muslims," the council statement said. .
"We expect the Biden administration to go further by supporting the passage of the Non-Banning Act, and addressing systemic grievances within the federal government that led to discrimination based on the religious and ethnic affiliation of Muslims and immigrants under the previous administration," he added.
During his election campaign, Biden spoke to America's Muslims - in a video message to the Muslim Advocates - in which he pledged to work with them "to de-poison the hatred from our society, to honor your contributions and support your ideas."
"My administration will look like America, where Muslims are represented at all levels," he added.
Despite this, the Biden administration has not yet included any Muslim citizens in its senior positions.