Trump's List of Banned Countries Came From Obama

There's been much made of Ban on admitting individuals from seven countries imposed by Trump's executive order. What hasn't been discussed much is how that list, which covers Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, was compiled. The text of the executive order itself doesn't specifically name the countries. It refers only to US law.

And what law was that? Namely, the "Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015."

That's right. The seven countries included in Trump's executive order, which places a 90 day moratorium on the issuance of visas to people from "countries of concern," was not chosen arbitrarily. It came from the list of "countries of concern" that were named in bipartisan approved legislation signed into law by President Obama, and further implemented by his administration, specifically the Department of Homeland Security.

A good description of the how the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 (hereafter the "VWP Terrorist Travel Prevention Act") operated to limit anyone who lived in or had traveled to countries covered by the Act, including those three (Libya, Sudan and Yemen) added by the Obama administration in February 2016, can be found at this FAQ web page of NAIC Action, an advocate for the the Iranian American Community.

The original version of the bill restricted visa-free travel to the U.S. for any citizen of a VWP country who, since March 2011, has traveled to Iraq and Syria – the primary states where ISIS operates – or any other country that the Department of Homeland Security designates as having a significant Foreign Terrorist Organization presence. The legislation was amended to add countries that are designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism to the restricted countries list (Iran, Sudan, Syria), and to expand the restrictions to include not just persons who traveled to these countries but also to prohibit citizens of VWP countries who are also dual nationals of these countries from participating in the program. [...]

The direct targets of the law include citizens of European Union or other VWP countries who also hold Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese or Syrian dual nationality or who have visited these countries in the past five years. They are now required to apply for a visa in order to travel to the United States.

The law may potentially impact Americans who are dual nationals or have traveled to the “restricted” countries because the VWP operates on the basis of reciprocity. EU countries, for example, accept American travelers without a visa because we accepted EU travelers without a visa. However, because we now bar certain citizens from the VWP, the EU can respond by applying the same restrictions against Americans seeking to visit EU countries. As the bill targets dual nationals of Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria, it is possible that reciprocal measures would target dual nationals from those same countries living in the United States, including Iranian Americans.

It should be noted that the Visa Waiver Program or VWP never included the seven countries listed as "Countries of Concern" in Trump's executive order. Individuals from those countries (for example, Iran) were already subject to stringent VISA requirements in order to travel to the United States. The VWP Terrorist Travel Prevention Act made it harder for individuals living in nations covered under the VWP who held dual citizenship, or who had traveled to any country listed in the law or added to the list by the Department of Homeland Security, to travel to the United States visa free.

Further, that list that limited the issuance of visas to people who had traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc. under the Obama administration never included Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, two countries whose nationals we know were involved in terrorist actions against American citizens, including the 9/11 attack. Trump could have added them to his own list but chose not to do so. Why? Probably because his advisors wish to (1) use existing law to buttress Trump's actions under the executive order, and (2) both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are our "putative allies" in the War on Terror, even though the Saudis financed Al Queda and ISIS, and Pakistan provided a safe harbor for Al Queda members and Taliban forces fighting the US military in Afghanistan, as well as murdering many innocent civilians as part of their continued war against the US backed regime there.

Would Trump have taken this step temporarily ban people from coming to the US from those seven countries without the existence of the VWP Terrorist Travel Prevention Act and the list prepared by the Department of Homeland Security under Obama? I cannot say. Trump is a wild card and may have simply issued a 90 day ban on some Middle eastern countries in any event. But it undoubtedly made it easier for him to issue his executive order naming the very same countries that were included in the VWP Terrorist Travel Prevention Act or added to it by Obama's DHS. Those laws and the prior actions of the DHS set a precedent for discriminating against people who reside in or visited countries that were deemed by previous administrations to be "state sponsors or supporters of terrorism" or otherwise potential risks to our national security.

Do I approve of Trump's "ban" of 90 days (for now) of individuals from Iran Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Sudan, and his 120 day moratorium (for now) refusing the admission of refugees from those same seven countries? No, I do not. I think it sends the wrong message at the wrong time and will result in a backlash against the US in Europe, the Middle East and the Muslim community at large throughout the world. However, I doubt it will provoke any additional animus toward our country than has already been generated by the illegal wars prosecuted in predominately Muslim nations by our government under both Presidents Bush and Obama.

I'm hopeful that our courts will find that Trump's executive order is an unconstitutional abrogation of power by the executive branch, but that is all I am - hopeful. The numerous executive orders that went unchallenged by Congress during the Bush and Obama years might make it difficult for any federal appellate court, including The US Supreme Court, to view this particular order as any more or less valid than previous ones that also claimed to be supported by statutes and the President's claimed authority under Article II of the Constitution.

In particular, I do not agree with the ACLU that Trump's actions violate the Establishment clause of the First Amendment (i.e., the one prohibiting an establishment of an official religion). The executive order on its face does not refer to Muslims or any other religion. It also extends to all nationals from those countries regardless of their religious faith or lack of one. Indeed I heard a Republican member of Congress on NPR this morning complaining about the ban because it effected a Christian family whose admission as refugees he supported. Second, we have discriminated against immigrants in the past who came from countries that were not predominately Christian (e.g., China and Japan).

In like manner, I don't think the executive order can be opposed on the basis that it calls for a future preference in immigration policy for "Christians," as that is not what the order says. It merely tasks the Secretary of State upon resumption of the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) to:

[T]he extent permitted by law, to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality.

Under my reading of that provision, it would also include prioritizing the immigration applications of religious minorities who are not Christian, such as Shi'ites in Sunni dominated countries, etc., so long as the refugees in question have been persecuted by their governments as a result of their faith. For those reasons, I believe it would be a fool's errand to base a constitutional challenge to Trump's order on the First Amendment's prohibition against the establishment of religion.

We will just have to wait to see how this plays out. One thing is certain, however. A large part of Trump's base and many other Americans will view this "ban" as a legitimate protection against terrorism, one that was long overdo.

And who, besides politicians in both parties, has been ginning up the fear of Islamic terrorists over the last 16 years whenever it suited their purposes? The same media that is now outraged that Trump actually did what he he promised to do during his campaign. They laughed him off for months, even as as they made him a daily staple of their programming for ratings, such that his xenophobic message of fear and hate against Muslims was broadcast to millions. At the same time they trumpeted the experience of Hillary, the singular force behind our policies of regime change in Libya and Syria, a supporter of Israel's policy of "ethnic cleansing" against the Palestinians, and a woman who threatened to the possible use of nuclear weapons against Russia and military action against Iran. And now they want to take the high ground?

As always, the hypocrisy among our political and media elites never ceases to amaze me. Where were they during the Obama years when assassination by drone, even of US citizens became our official policy? Where were they when Congress and Obama extended the powers of the NSA, FBI etc. to delve into our private lives? Indeed, where were they when civil rights groups objected to the VWP Terrorist Travel Prevention Act? Absent. Silent.

I'd like to think that the boisterous objections to Trump's executive order made by the likes of Senators Schumer and Warren are based on something other than political expediency, but after the past year I find it difficult to believe their outrage is genuine, especially in light of the feeble efforts by Democrats in the Senate to oppose Trump's more extreme and radical cabinet appointments.

In our justifiable outrage against Mr Trump, let us not forget that he became President because of the high-handed actions of the elite Democratic Party establishment in rigging the primaries so they could run the worst presidential candidate in modern history as their nominee. Nor let us forget that their own policies when in power, though not often opposed by the media, were just as odious and outrageous when it came to prosecuting the War on Terror that has so venomously corrupted our collective American soul, and made us a pariah among nations. They shaped the conditions that led to the rise of someone like Trump and now the rest of us have to suffer the consequences of their failures, both strategic and moral.

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boriscleto's picture

By the previous three administrations...

Far more disturbing than any of the previous few days distractions is the fact that Steve Bannon is now on the National Security Council. Replacing the DNI and the Joint Chiefs...

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" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

featheredsprite's picture

@boriscleto The question that bugs me is just how much control does Bannon have over Trump? Bannon would love to be a puppet master and if Trump is vulnerable to such manipulation, we may be in for a rough ride.

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Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.

boriscleto's picture

@featheredsprite

So far Bannon seems to be the one in charge, even if Priebus is "Chief of Staff". Supposedly he is the one writing all these executive orders for Drumpf to sign.

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" In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move. -- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy "

sojourns's picture

@featheredsprite

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"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage

Mark from Queens's picture

@sojourns Just gets creepier and creepier. Bannon as National Security?

Drumpf leaned on his political strategies to win the election. So now thinks he's a genius and defers to him, especially in matters that his ADD/narcissistic half-wit brain doesn't want to have to deal with. And like a true quid pro quo "business" man, rewards him with more power as payment.

Some guy tweeted the description of Bannon that I can't get out of my head:

Bannon looks like every fat, semi-functioning alcoholic that goes to strip club lunch buffets.

If this can be confirmed, this is deeply troubling:

Full blown, fear-laden, white Christian crypto-fascists in the White House.

Good reminder Steven. Dems laid groundwork for all of these executive abuses, beginning when Pelosi took impeachment and prosecution over the lies for the invasion of Iraq off the table.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

sojourns's picture

@Mark from Queens on he NSC literally made my skin crawl. In addition, two other members have been all but silenced.

Those quotes are spot on. And he does look exactly like a titty bar patron. His face has all the markings of a long term alcoholic. Perhaps we'll get lucky and disabling health problems will ensue.

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"I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones."
John Cage

SnappleBC's picture

@sojourns I've spent some time in "titty bars". And honestly, I have no particularly easy caricature of what a titty bar patron looks like. I'd have been wearing slacks, tie and jacket. Others were clearly blue collar. Some were sketchy but not most. To the best of my ability to recollect and review, I'd say it looked like a pretty standard cross-section of American men.

For the record, I tended to prefer low-end to anything that might be called a "Gentleman's Club". That always seemed vaguely hypocritical and way too pretentious for me.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

@boriscleto Maybe bigger than 9/11 that will give the Trumpists the excuse they need to declare martial law. Maybe something along the lines of a Reichstag fire.

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Beware the bullshit factories.

CB's picture

@Timmethy2.0

a Purple Revolution in the streets which will give Trump an excuse to use the greater presidential powers which were enacted under Dubya as a response to terrorism, foreign AND domestic. Obama not only failed to repeal them, he increased their scope and purpose.

The definition of 'terrorism' has been so loosely defined in order to cover American military interventions abroad that it would take little manipulation for someone like Trump to use it to his advantage on the home front.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@CB Seems a shame to have that military response happen against something that's not even a real populist uprising.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@CB Kabuki all around. With dead bodies.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Timmethy2.0

Yup, been braced for that for a while; figure probably soonish, because the Idiot Powers That Be will be figuring that will take everyone's mind off stuff like democracy, Constitutional and human rights. Fool me twice, shame on me, though.

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Big Al's picture

Of course Trump is hated by the neocons because he's not only going to continue but ramp up their plan for world domination using the war OF terror and by "re-building America's defenses". Neocons just hate that shit which is why Trump is different, someone who won't war a single war, fire a single shot, nor kill a single child.

The democrats have and are proving themselves hypocrites of the highest order, people to be ignored and shunned. What they have to say now is irrelevant.

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@Big Al I think we will have at least one economic war and that may well spin off actually shooting confrontations possibly by other actors on our behalf, just like the cold war.

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Big Al's picture

@LaFeminista I've been peeved about the benefit of the doubt Trump and his regime have been given regarding war and imperialism. If you look closely, it's the same thing only different, i.e., the war OF terror, the cornerstone of the neocon strategy, is the cornerstone of the Trump strategy also.

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@Big Al

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CS in AZ's picture

@Big Al

I'm peeved about him being given the benefit of a "doubt" when there isn't even anything to doubt. You don't really have to look very closely to see that Trump is a raging, totally uncontrolled waraholic.

Here's what he said just this morning:

Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!

Oh yay! A full-on holy war on the horizon, coming down fast and furious. Should be fun profitable.

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@CS in AZ

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Big Al There doesn't seem to be much trouble criticizing Trump. Critics of Trump are getting red-carpet treatment by the corporate media, all the coverage they could wish for. It's Obama who doesn't get criticized.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

Yup, sure smells like the almost-due Second Coming of The Saviour Clinton, to save us all from the Trump Of Doom, in order to nuke the world and get the Apocalypse for the 99.99% over with. The best-laid plans of Mad bombers, however gang aft agley.

If it wasn't for that pesky truth leaking out to ruin the Coronation the first time... and ever after.

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

and that does come under the 1st, it's not in the existing order, but will probably be applied surreptitiously.

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Azazello's picture

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FTFB9GDfls width:500 height:300]

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello with this.

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the Clinton administration in terms of the destructive laws passed as a result of his policies and proposals. This time around I am actually looking for articles and analysis of the Obama administration in terms of what he left us, and I have to say, it's quite appalling.

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"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin

CB's picture

neocons is the neocons now want to step up regime change in Russia now that they have been so successful in destroying the 7 Muslim countries that Wesley Clark reported March 2007: “We’re going to take out seven countries in 5 years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran”.

Other than Iran (Russia ensured that but came in too late for Syria), none of those countries are now capable of projecting power outside their borders and will not be for generations to come - fait accompli. They have been turned into smouldering hellholes that the US military can bomb and strike at will.

For the neocons the real prize has always been Russia. This is why most changed their party support to Hillary. A woman who holds their same beliefs.

The US backed and engineered coup in Ukraine was the last major operation aimed at the Russians. The REAL prize was to be Sevastopol eventually held in NATO's firm embrace. But, due to the skill and foresight of Putin, it widely missed its mark and Crimea was quickly repatriated to Russia. This was a major blow as you can see by the enmity now being instigated and promulgated by the western MSM. You will now find there will be little interest in Ukraine or in the fate of its citizens. It was never about their lives or "democracy". They were tools - to be used and discarded, like all the pawns in the other color revolutions.

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SnappleBC's picture

@CB That concise summary was pretty much the image I had in my head too but I still want need to firm it up with more research.

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A lot of wanderers in the U.S. political desert recognize that all the duopoly has to offer is a choice of mirages. Come, let us trudge towards empty expanse of sand #1, littered with the bleached bones of Deaniacs and Hope and Changers.
-- lotlizard

mimi's picture

is a term that is that vague and broad that it is necessary to look not only who wrote up this law, but who and how the government agencies will act upon it. Worse than listing six countries is not listing any of the countries that may be of "concern" to President Trump.

I don't trust Trump's temperament and think he will use the term "countries of concern" nilly-willy and as spontaneously against any country that doesn't adore his hairstyle. Previous administrations al least seemed to be selective, however hypocritical the whole law is considering that the US is at war with those countries and bomb them. The way Trump twitters out his shit bombs, I think one can safely assume that he will not restrict himself to the letter of the text of the law, when he doesn't feel like it. Relating to the Jimmy Dore video, Azazello posted, the thing is that Trump's shit bombs of words on twitter can incite more havoc than drone bombs of Obama. This is an awful thing to say, but may be it is not that farfetched, considering how "well informed" the whole world is about Trumps shit bombs on twitter compared to Obama's drone bombs.

It's just something people don't want to see, because twitter bombs don't cause someone to bleed to death, they just destroy peoples' minds, which is pretty dangerous too, if you ask me.

So who will be the next "country of concern"? Wait for the list to be updated and not published.

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Steven D's picture

@mimi It's only the US public that's ignorant thanks to our media psy-ops campaign to keep it that way.

But Twitter, well we do pay attention to that.

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"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott

@Steven D US liberals are inexplicably ignorant of past presidents' similar actions. And inexplicably dormant at those times.

Only now, right now, with a president whom people hate because of their own personal feelings, does such an action matter.

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dfarrah

@mimi have been destroyed?

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dfarrah

on it. He promised to ban muslims. So do I give a shit how he decided to execute his ban ? Do I care that he tried to hide it with a reference to laws enacted under Obama ? Nope.

Trump is getting all his "promises" out of the way with secretive laws that are loosely written. He tops it off with a bungling execution and contradictory statements and tweets. I get it, the Democrats are grandstanding but continuing to be outraged at them is kinda pointless.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Blueslide Tried to hide it? Why would he do that? If Trump has a single virtue it's the fact that all his bullshit comes right out of his mouth, on camera.

You make it sound like he's trying to pin it on Obama, when in fact, all he's done is take us a few more steps down the road Obama had already taken us down, sort of like all Obama did was take us a few more steps down the road Bush and Cheney took us down.

That's because the real power isn't with the politicians, for the most part.

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

This is a really good explanation of what has been going on.

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MarilynW's picture

Obama's law was to force travellers from those 7 countries to have visa's, they were not banned from entry with a valid visa.

Trump's law invalidates those visa's and bans entry.

But you are right, the Obama administration laid the ground work. Thanks for explaining that.

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To thine own self be true.