The Real Significance of the Temporary Immigration Ban?

Is the Trump administration inviting a constitutional crisis in the United States District Court (USDC)? Despite the fact that any half-conscious sot could, in a few Google clicks, find lists of refugees or immigrants from the seven subject countries caught committing or attempting to commit acts of terror, which would justify the temporary ban, when asked by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the administration demurred. Citing how quickly the case had developed, the Department of Justice (DOJ) merely raised and referred to the conclusions of the previous administration regarding the threat of immigration from the specific targeted nations.

It almost appeared as if the DOJ did not want to answer the question. Why wouldn't the administration want to justify the ban? Moreover, the DOJ did not offer, at least from what this author read online, to supplement the record with actual instances of immigrants from the specified countries representing a threat.

There is little question the court's injunction faces some important legal issues:

1. A nationwide injunction issuing from a single USDC is, although with some precedent, difficult to support;
2. Immigration is, according to Congress, a peculiarly executive function, and Congress has granted great deference to the Executive Branch;
3. Without a sitting ninth Justice, the U.S. Supreme Court may deadlock on any issue, keeping the lower court ruling in place. Whether the result is good, one might think, depends on whether you support or don't support the ban. But, consider the possibility that there is a different objective than just a temporary ban on certain immigration.

Most people forget that the USDC system is NOT a constitutional court system. It is a statutory system. Congress established the system, and grants to the courts subject matter jurisdiction, which Congress can remove. Are the people in the Trump administration prescient enough to invite a crisis in order to justify weakening a court system that it finds "obstructive" on several fronts? My article, "The real significance of the ‘Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States’ suggested that a prior Trump administration order on immigration "represents governance at a very high level, a level many thought Trump incapable of reaching."  Outlining the sophistication of the order, and its objective to create a narrative, I concluded that the order "establishes the Trump administration as self-aware, proactive, and formidable."

The media, and apparently some in the Trump administration, would suggest that the executive order creating the temporary ban was, in contrast, not governance at its best, but a comedy of errors in its conception, drafting, and implementation.  Is it possible, though, that the chaos, the resulting challenge, and the resulting crisis is welcome and intended? It would explain, for example, initially leaked stories suggesting that the EO was not vetted nor communicated to key secretaries, which later turned out to be false.  These stories, and confusion whether the ban applied to those already-issued green cards or those otherwise previously admitted to the U.S., only added to the hysteria following the rollout of the order.

What if the real objective is support for restricting the power of the USDC to judicially review certain actions of the executive branch, or certain congressional legislation? An administration with the ability to achieve a defined objective is something the media is not even considering as it continues to be manipulated into believing, for example, that Steve Bannon runs the White House.  Is it possible, that there is value to the Trump administration in its political adversaries seeing it as feckless, inexperienced, and helpless?  Is it possible that, as with its previous immigration executive orders, the Trump administration is trying to develop and change the narrative, and the electorate.  How many voters who otherwise would cringe at any other congressional effort to limit the subject matter jurisdiction of the USDCs, might support an effort to check "activist federal courts," particularly in a case popular with many Americans, In which the court system was incapable of operating properly due to circumstance?  

The first month of the Trump Presidency may go down in history as the first effective use by a president of political "rope-a-dope."

Originally published in American Thinker.  The original article can be viewed here:

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/02/the_real_significance_of_the_temporary_immigration_ban.html#ixzz56AzTd4kn 

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The real significance of the "Executive Order on Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States"

The executive order titled "Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States," establishes the Trump administration as truly formidable.  If you haven't heard or read about it, you soon will.  The order requires, among other things, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to publish a weekly list of crimes committed by undocumented aliens.

There is an old adage: you should never pick a fight with anyone who buys his ink by the barrel.  The corollary is that the U.S. government "speaks" with an authority that threatens even the independent media and their billions of barrels of ink.  It is for this reason that scholars developed the doctrine of "government speech," which acknowledges the risks posed by a government engaged in propaganda.  That is why, for example, U.S. propaganda efforts like Voice of America are prohibited by law (the Smith-Mundt Act) from broadcasting in the U.S.  Simply, when the government "speaks," it does so in a loud, authoritative, and potentially exclusive voice.

The Trump administration believes that many in the media actively conceal news about crimes committed by undocumented aliens, or conceal the status of the perpetrators.  Now, in order to deluge what they contend is an ignorant public with evidence of an existential threat, the government will weekly generate and publish information and statistics supporting the administration's immigration narrative.  Some in the media will refuse to publish the information, but there is little doubt that the information will reach the public.  Of course, the megaphone of the U.S. government means that the information will likely have a profound impact.

For those who believe that any status should be irrelevant in decision-making due to the possibility of latent prejudice, or who believe that reference to status only feeds prejudice and discrimination, the impact will be further evidence that the U.S. cannot, and this administration will not, seek a more tolerant and less discriminatory culture.  Regardless, some of these may, if the statistics are compelling, be swayed to support government action to meet the threat.

For others, the information will confirm their belief in the threat.  There will be many, no doubt, who find the information illuminating and wonder why the threat was not sooner or more carefully identified.  Of course, the Trump administration is banking on there being many who are illuminated or swayed to support government action.

Regardless, the mere act of directing the government to develop the facts upon which to build a powerful narrative establishes the Trump administration as self-aware, proactive, and formidable.  The prescience and power of this strategy rival similar acts by former president Obama and the very prolific Senator Warren, who were directly or indirectly responsible for publishing countless reports documenting the existence and dangers of income inequality and of a rogue Wall Street.  These reports informed and motivated Progressives, anarchists, and anti-corruption conservatives alike, and supported movements like Occupy Wall Street and the Sanders insurgency.

Most importantly, the effort signals clearly that the administration is not feckless, inexperienced, or helpless.  It means the administration is intent and willing to change the narrative, and therefore the electorate.  It means that the administration sees a long-term objective, and is not satisfied with simply taking immediate action, however confident Trump is in the action, over compelling and supporting lasting change.

The Order represents governance at a very high level, a level many thought Trump incapable of reaching.  It will, of course, please his supporters.  It will only further disturb his opponents, though, including those in the Republican Party.  After scratching their heads at just how badly they have repeatedly underestimated Trump, the order will send a shudder through the collective being of Trump opponents.

Now there is, and can be, no corner of consolation that Trump's inexperience will render him ineffective.  There can be no comfort that his political naïveté renders him toothless.  The order means that the Trump administration is and can be dangerous.  If Trump is the reform candidate he promised, it is now clear that his administration is capable of changing the way politics and governance are conducted, and perhaps changing these for a very long time.

Originally published in American Thinker:

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/01/the_real_significance_of_the_executive_order_on_enhancing_public_safety_in_the_interior_of_the_united_states_.html#ixzz569t7PoYS 

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