Legal questions surround Trump’s ‘third world’ immigration restriction

In a pair of lengthy social media posts, President Donald Trump said he’ll pause migration from “third world countries” and strip citizenship from migrants who “undermine domestic tranquility.” The president’s comments come in response to the deadly shooting of members of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. by an Afghan national who was granted asylum.

Trump’s statements

The president wrote at length in the two posts about immigration in the U.S.

“This refugee burden is the leading cause of social dysfunction in America, something that did not exist after World War II (Failed schools, high crime, urban decay, overcrowded hospitals, housing shortages, and large deficits, etc.),” Trump wrote. “As an example, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Somalia are completely taking over the once great State of Minnesota.”

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There is no evidence Somalians are overtaking Minnesota despite the president’s claims.

Trump’s response came after it was revealed the shooter in Washington is an Afghan national and refugee.

“One can appreciate the kind of shock and concerns that Americans have, witnessing something like that on the day before Thanksgiving, and the president responding to it,” Peter Skerry, professor of political science at Boston College, told Straight Arrow News. “As is his habit, he tends to overdramatize and make the argument too strong and in much too broad in general terms.”

Curbing immigration

“I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization,” Trump wrote.

When it comes to those statements as actual policy, there are several variables.

“They’re very vague, and it’s hard to see exactly how they would translate into national policy,” John Skrentny, sociology professor at University of California, San Diego, told SAN. “So trying to assess the legality of these moves is not the easiest thing in the world, because terms such as third world, that’s not a legal term, and it’s hard to know who’s in and who’s out of that.”

It’s not the first time Trump has used broad terms to describe foreign nations negatively including famously questioning why America would allow immigrants from “s—hole countries” during his first term.

“The American people have lots of reasons to be concerned and anxious about our immigration policies, but he pushes it to the limit, and I think that’s not very helpful,” Skerry said.

The Department of Homeland Security said they have indefinitely suspended processing immigration requests from Afghan nationals and plan to review all pending asylum cases approved under the Biden administration.

“Effective immediately, I am issuing new policy guidance that authorizes USCIS officers to consider country-specific factors as significant negative factors when reviewing immigration requests,” Joseph Edlow, USCIS director, said in a statement.

The ongoing influx of immigrants to the U.S. remains a concern for many Americans.

“Congress has just simply done nothing about immigration for years,” Skerry said. “I think that’s the relevant point here. Congress has to step up to the plate.”

Legality

Putting a halt on immigration from numerous countries would be a difficult task and would likely be challenged by members of Congress and the court system.

It could be similar to Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” in 2017, which ended in a Supreme Court decision that allowed the ban to go through.

“One of the problems with foreseeing the legal outcomes of these initiatives, should they come to pass, is the United States has two almost opposed legal doctrines that govern immigration,” Skrentny said. “One of them is called the plenary power, and that’s the idea that in the case of immigration, the executive branch and Congress can pretty much do what they want.”

The other legal doctrine Skrentny pointed to is the 14^th Amendment, which guarantees people, not just citizens, the due process of law.

“Having said that the law is whatever the judges say it is,” Skrentny said. “So, a lot of folks thought that Roe v. Wade was settled law. Turns out that it wasn’t.”

The Trump administration has taken unprecedented actions on immigration, such as invoking the Alien Enemies Act earlier this year.

“One would have to be concerned that they do it in a way that follows the law and does it in a systematic and fair way,” Skerry said. “The way they’ve been going, I have real doubts about that.”

The Trump administration has not always abided by laws or court rulings.

“Judges are just people sitting behind [a desk] and they’re just making pronouncements,” Skrentny said. “They don’t have an army, they don’t have a security force, they can’t enforce their opinions. And so, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think anyone who will tell you that they know what’s going to happen is being honest.  Really, we’re in uncharted territory.”

Meanwhile, revoking people’s green cards is a possibility.

“It’s clear that green cards are revocable, have been revoked in specific instances, and they can and will do that,” Skerry said. “The question is, will they do it fairly following procedures, or do it in the kind of slipshod way that they seem to be doing most things when it comes to immigration policies.”

Stripping a person of citizenship is a much different process and can be very complex.

Impact of immigration change

The president’s immigration policies have had several implications on the country, including a reduction in the workforce, GDP loss and some have even pointed to added cost of living.

“There will be negative impacts if we curtail immigration,” Skerry said. “There already are negative impacts. The president himself has acknowledged that at various points.”

Immigration is a topic that continues to divide Americans at a time where many Americans believe the country is more divided than ever.

“If everyone was getting their news from Straight Arrow News, then maybe we wouldn’t have that problem,” Skrentny said. “But that’s not the case at this time. So, it’s a difficult world we live in where people have different sets of facts.”