I just had a disturbing conversation with a green card holder—a legal permanent resident of the United States. He had asked if he thought traveling internationally was wise for him as someone who has criticized President Trump and Israel and whether he should avoid any further criticism and/or remove any past criticism from his social media before he travels.
In a free society, the answer would be: “You should say whatever you want, criticize whoever you want, and not worry about traveling because the government cannot punish you for what you say.” But until the Supreme Court reaffirms that the First Amendment protects noncitizens in the United States from banishment for their speech—and until President Trump obeys the Supreme Court—we do not live in a free country.
The Trump administration is revoking green cards and visas solely based on speech. Individuals are explicitly being targeted based on “beliefs, statements, or associations” that are “lawful within the United States” but which Secretary of State Marco Rubio has deemed “adverse to the foreign policy of the United States.” Even authoring an op-ed criticizing a foreign government’s foreign policy can now trigger visa revocation. The administration is also searching electronic devices at ports of entry for evidence of “adverse” views.
Read the rest here.
See also this on Trump's orders targeting law firms that have crossed him in the past.
2 comments:
Playing devil's advocate here... Would you oppose deporting an immigrant who advocated for the white supremacists like the Klan? I'm not saying they are equivalent, but would the principle behind your thinking apply in that case?
That's a pretty interesting question and a fair point. My gut reaction would be to deport them. But that is a slippery slope. My general feeling is that if you are not advocating something actually illegal, then the state should not be punishing it. It's worth noting that just about the only "refugees" being welcomed by Donald Trump are white Afrikaners complaining of ill treatment at the hands of the post-apartheid government in South Africa. I'm not going to say that these people are all white supremacists. But if they aren't, their ancestors certainly were and they were the beneficiaries of that system.
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