San Angelo and Texas Politicians Respond to Trump's Immigration Ban

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- Five days ago, a draft of an executive order was leaked to civil rights advocates, which stated that the Trump Administration would begin vetting would-be immigrants and visitors to the United States and immediately halt the resettlement of Syrian refuges in this country. However, former CIA Officer and current Texas Congressman Will Hurd, a Republican, believes that Trump's "one-size-fits-all solution is not the way to solve one of the most complex National Security challenges."

Trump’s executive order called for an immediate 90-day halt to all immigrant and non-immigrant entries to the United States, meaning de facto that those who hold valid visas can be turned away at all U.S. airport entry points. The countries Trump has singled out include Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya, and Somalia. Yet, surprisingly, Muslim-majority countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Jordan are not on the list.

Then, on January 27, President Trump signed an order that "suspended admission of all refugees for 120 days while a new system is put in place to tighten vetting for those from predominantly Muslim countries and give preference to religious minorities," reported Washington Post writer Carol Morello. Since then, there has been a national outcry over what Trump has called “the ban,” and what media has coined as the “Trump travel ban.”

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Hurd, the U.S. Representative for the 23^rd Congressional District of Texas that spans from western San Antonio to Alpine, said he believes that Trump’s executive order does not make the nation safer; instead, it rather “decreases the security of our homeland and endangers the lives of thousands of American men and women in our Military, diplomatic corps, and intelligence services.”

Hurd, a former undercover CIA agent, has spent most of his “adult life chasing down terrorists.” He said he understands “how important it is to cooperate with foreign allies to get the job done.”

The Representative is adamant in his belief that “we cannot fight the scourge of Islamic Extremism alone.” Hurd said, in order to “prevent terrorists from having safe havens from which to plot, plan and train for attacks, the United States [needs] to work with all allies around the world.”

For Congressman Hurd, the “visa ban is the new ultimate display of mistrust,” and he is fearful that the U.S. “will erode [their] allies.” Decidedly, he is not the only one speaking out against Trump’s newest executive order.

People all over the world have been gathering to protest the President’s executive order. Trump’s Ex-Attorney General, Sally Yates, lost her job over her refusal to back Trump’s decision; UK Prime Minister Theresa May “does not agree” with Trump’s approach, and neither do German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Locally, members of the Democratic Party took a stand against President Trump’s order.

Last night, close to a 100 people gathered in front of the steps of the Tom Green County Courthouse. David R. Currie, Tom Green County Democratic Chair, hosted a prayer vigil to “pray for our leaders.” In his opening speech, Currie agreed with Republican commentator Anna Navarro, who had labeled Trump’s executive order “unconstitutional, inhumane, and un-American.”

He added, “I also agree with Congressman Will Hurd and Senators Graham and McCain that this executive order does not make us safer, but rather endangers the lives of Americans and others.”

Currie’s prayer vigil was a call for religious freedom.

“We do not have religious tests; and when we try to, we violate both our own American constitution and the will of God who wants free worshippers or none at all,” Currie said.

After clarifying that the event was to be non-partisan, several local ministers, including Bishop Michael J. Sis of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie Hawkins, came forward to offer their guidance and hope to those who attended.

Last night’s participants at the prayer vigil were in spirit with those protesters who are standing at the door steps of U.S. international airports, where visa-holders are prevented from entering the USA. Most recently, this has also been the case at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. A 16-year-old high school student from Katy, Texas is currently held at a detention center in Chicago after having been stopped by immigration officials at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Saturday. After trending on Facebook Tuesday evening, ABC13 reported that the student had flown to Jordan to renew his Visa and was returning home to Katy.

Also in the area, a Texas Tech international scholar has been detained after making it to Cypress, Texas. Tibor Nagy, Texas Tech’s Vice Provost for International Affairs, said, “International students are good for the security of the United States of America, and spend billions of dollars for higher education in the U.S.,” but should the executive order continue preventing international students to return to the U.S., “it would have a chilling effect because then they would be welcome in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.”

Where to go from here?

While Will Hurd questions the President’s “one size fits all approach, “ he also suggests alternatives.

“The way to solve this problem is to continue tightening visa loopholes, ensure that the right intelligence is being shared with our allies and amongst U.S. agencies and organizations, and to use a number of tools to keep Americans from falling prey to ISIS propaganda," he said. "I will work to re-introduce legislation designed to keep all Americans safe, giving our President the opportunity to sign legislation that will protect our shores from those who seek to do us harm.”

Below, the text of the remarks by Bishop Michael J. Sis:

Good evening. I’d like to start with a prayer, and then share a few words.

Let us pray: “Lord God, we thank you for the chance to live in freedom in this beautiful country. Please guide this evening’s prayer vigil in a spirit of mutual respect. Lead our nation down the right path in this critical moment in our history. We depend completely on you, who live and reign forever and ever.Amen.”

One of the most controversial social issues of our day is the question of immigration. According to the United Nations, there are now more than 65 million people in the world who are forcibly displaced from their homes.

With the recent wave of unrest regarding the situation of immigrants and refugees, this provides us with an opportunity to examine our own attitudes toward migrants and to appreciate the many benefits that migrants bring to our communities.

Think about the fact that there is no one in our country who is not descended from people who at some point migrated here from another continent. Even the Native American tribes migrated here from Asia.

The United States of America is a better country because of the contributions of immigrants. Think about the people you know who are immigrants or children of immigrants: They are your neighbors, your co-workers, your relatives, and your friends.

This country was built by immigrants. We have the Statue of Liberty for good reason. We must never turn our backs on that heritage of integrating newcomers into our culture.

There are many places in the Bible that speak of the immigration experience:

• God inspired Abraham and Sarah to move from Ur of the Chaldeans and settle in the land of Canaan.
• Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt to the Holy Land.
• Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were temporarily refugees in the foreign land of Egypt in order to escape the violence of King Herod.
• One of God’s commandments in the book of Exodus relates to migrants: ‘You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt’ (Ex 22:21).
• Jesus teaches us in the Gospel of Mathew that, when we welcome the stranger, we are actually welcoming Christ himself, who will say in the Last Judgment, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25:35) Sometimes Christ visits us in the disguise of the migrant in need.In the end, we will be judged according to how we have responded to him.

People have a basic human right to migrate, in order to find a safe place to live, and to be able to put food on the table.

Of course, every country has the right and responsibility to maintain the integrity of its borders and the rule of law. Those who enter a country, or seek refugee settlement, or apply for immigration status, should be carefully screened in order to protect the common good.

The U.S. government has a legitimate role in intercepting unauthorized migrants who attempt to travel to the United States. Illegal immigration should not be condoned or encouraged, because it is not good for society or for the migrant, who then lives outside the law and in the shadows.

What is needed is comprehensive immigration reform. The economy of the United States depends upon a certain amount of immigrant labor, but in the current system the number of available visas for workers is not sufficient to meet our demand for foreign laborers.

Rather than maintain a system that feeds upon keeping people in the shadows, it would make more sense to grant enough work visas for the workers that we need.

Speaking for the Catholic Church, we will continue to provide pastoral care and charitable assis-tance to new immigrants. We welcome immigrants to participate actively in our local congregations. We will continue to assist people to regularize their immigration status, and our agencies will continue to process and place refugees after screening by the federal government.

We believe that our faith calls us to welcome the stranger, to treat others with compassion, and to live with a spirit of solidarity for all human beings.

Thank you all for caring enough to be here this evening. God bless you.