Nguyen, Katie

Mr. Wisner

World History

T/R - 1st Period

2 February 2017

Current Event 3: Political Structures

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/04/us/politics/visa-ban-trump-judge-james-robart.html

Key Vocabulary from the Article (Define at least 4).

Summary of the Event (at least 3 major points; each point will have its own paragraph)

Donald Trumps executive order to halt citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from
entering the United States has received major backlash over the past few days. A day after a
federal judge blocked the immigration order, the government opened the United States again to
refugees and other travelers from the seven Muslim-majority countries that were listed in the
executive ban. The State Department went back to admitting refugees and accepting visas for the
affected refugees. This event is a tentative opportunity for refugees to enter the United States
since they know that the judges ruling could change at any given moment.
The blocking of the immigration order led to Trump criticising the developments through
Twitter, which sparked criticism that he was not acknowledging the judicial branchs ability to
put a check on his authority as president. On Saturday, the Justice Department notified the
District Court that it would seek to have the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
block the lower courts action. Judge Robart declared in his ruling that there is not evidence or
support for the administrations argument that they would have to protect the U.S. from
individuals from the affected countries. The judge also barred the administration from its control
on limiting the acceptance of refugees.
 After the events of last week, officials are working towards getting refugees back to the
United States by rebooking flights scheduled for them to leave the country and returning to
vetting them. Although the ban has been halted, there are some officials that caution travelers
that they should wait a while until there is more clarity about the future of this ban. Washington
States attorney general Bob Ferguson filed a case for the ban that was announced last week,
citing it to cause damage to the states economy and communities, but it was a very broad suit.
Ferguson tried getting other Democratic attorney generals but no one automatically backed his
lawsuit. Many states have wanted to take the same actions as Ferguson, but they worry that an
attack like his would ignite questions over standing.

Your Opinion of the Event (at least 3 sentences).

I feel like the United States is in a very weird and uncertain time. We are still
trying to get used to the new president, but he has already done so much and plans on
doing more. Obviously, I think that the Muslim ban is ridiculous and it wont solve
anything. Hopefully, everything will be sorted out and this ban wont ever go into effect
in the United States.

Relate your Event to a Historical Event (compare and contrast with current event).

There was another immigration ban that happened in the United States in 1917,
officially named the Immigration Act of 1917. The law restricted immigrants from
mostly the Middle East and Asia from entering the United States through tests, increased
taxes, and straight-out bans. The law barred all idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons,
epileptics, insane persons ... persons with chronic alcoholism; paupers, professional
beggars," and it also barred those who "advocate the overthrow by force or violence of
the Government of the United States, or of all forms of law from entering the United
States. Immigrants needed to take a basic comprehension test if they were over the age of
16, and the law imposed higher taxes on immigrants that were adults. The immigration
ban also denied immigrants from the Asiatic Barred Zone, which included modern day
India, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Southeast Asia and the Asian-Pacific
islands.
Some differences between the Immigration Act of 1917 and Trumps ban are that
Trumps executive order was temporarily halted by a federal judge, while the Act of 1917
actually became a law. President Woodrow Wilson at the time opposed the ban, but
Congress overrode his veto, while the president actually supports it for this event. Also,
the Immigration Act of 1917 affected more people from more countries, rather than just
the seven majority-Muslim countries that Trump plans on barring immigrants from.
Some similarities that these two events have are that the supporters of the bans
argued that the measures were necessary because of national security. Trump and his
supporters have said numerous times that the ban would help keep out the bad people
that come from those countries. Another similarity is that there are tests that immigrants
would have to take in order to access the country. Both events are similar in the sense that
they both discriminate against people because of their nationality and origin.
 Relate your Event to a Theme (at least 3 sentences).

This event relates to the theme of political structures because this article covers
the conflicts within the United States and follows the controversy over the presidents
orders. The aftermath of this ban has also sparked more protests which also corresponds
with the subtopic of a form of revolt. The ban affects many Muslim immigrants across
the nation, so it furthers the fact that this article goes under the category of political
structures.

Questions You Have About the Event (4).

- How many Muslim immigrants live across the United States and out of that
number, how many have actually committed acts of terrorism?
- How is an executive order created?
- Is it possible for Congress to continue to petition to keep this ban or something of
the like?
- What is the role of an attorney general?