California Asian, Muslim and Jewish groups decry Trump’s travel ban
A protest at San Diego International Airport against the first voyage ban in File photo by Chris Stone Times of San Diego President Trump s new ban on travelers from countries in Africa Asia and the Middle East has come under harsh criticism from California organizations representing Asians Muslims and Jews The ban stated Wednesday applies to people from Afghanistan Myanmar Chad the Republic of Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan and Yemen In addition there are passage restrictions for people from Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan and Venezuela who don t already hold a visa The ban and restrictions which echo the Muslim ban of Trump s first administration go into effect Monday Asian Americans Advancing Justice a Los Angeles based-network of four independent Asian American civil rights organizations strongly condemned the ban saying it will stigmatize entire nations and communities Trump s new expedition ban is the latest of several attempts to target our communities in his larger agenda to stigmatize and end immigration and refugee resettlement the organization announced in a report These efforts echo and reinforce a long history of xenophobic exclusion from the Chinese Exclusion Act to Japanese American incarceration The San Diego office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations declared the ban scapegoats entire nations This isn t just a Muslim Ban it s a full-blown Muslim and African Ban It s a shameful recycled attack that brands entire communities as suspect merely because of where they come from reported Executive Director Tazheen Nizam in a report It weaponizes fear twists global issues into excuses and uses them as a cover to justify sweeping racist exclusions This isn t about shield it s about scapegoating And we see it for exactly what it is she explained The American Jewish Committee a global advocacy organization with a new San Diego office announced that while it is grateful for the Trump administration s efforts to fight antisemitism the expedition ban lacks a clear connection to the underlying complication We are concerned that the previous 24 hours s proclamation imposing a full voyage ban on countries and sharp restrictions on seven others will prevent those in need of real refuge from entering the U S the AJC explained in a declaration It remains our strong belief that it is accomplishable to allow for just immigration and refugee policies while upholding the national safeguard of the United States
