In a change of strategy after suffering repeated setbacks in courts, President Donald Trump has hinted at the possibility of coming up with a “brand new” executive order next week to enforce his temporary ban on refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim nations.
Trump dwelt on his plans on a day when reports emerged that US immigration authorities have, in unrelated action, arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants from several latin American countries in raids in six States. The Department of Homeland Security called it “routine immigration enforcement action”.
Trump, angry with the courts for staying his ban order, said on Saturday that he might issue a new executive order targeting people from the seven nations even while asserting that his earlier order of January 27, too, would ultimately prevail in court.
“We will win that battle,” he told reporters, noting: “The unfortunate part is that it takes time statutorily, but we will win that battle. We also have a lot of other options, including just filing a brand-new order.”
“We need speed for reasons of security, so it very well could be,” Trump said if he would press ahead with a new order. Trump indicated the new security measures would incorporate “very, very strong vetting”, adding: “I call it extreme vetting and we’re going very strong on security.”
Simultaneously, Trump, clearly averse to the idea of admitting defeat with the earlier executive order, could still be appealing against the stay issued by a Seattle court and confirmed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. “All options remain on the table,” commented White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Any new order, it is widely expected, will explicitly exclude permanent legal residents holding green cards. The initial confusion on this score with the earlier order came in for sharp criticism from courts.
In his weekly radio address, Trump said he would not be deterred by the criticism of his order, stressing: “We will not allow our generous system of immigration to be turned against us as a tool for terrorism and truly bad people.”
Meanwhile, in unrelated action, federal agents carried out raids in at least six States, arresting hundreds of illegal immigrants from a dozen latin American countries. The Washington Post reported that the raids were conducted in homes and workplaces in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, los Angeles, North Carolina and South Carolina. A precise number of the arrests made has not been released yet.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called it routine enforcement action. “We’re talking about people who are threats to public safety or a threat to the integrity of the immigration system,” the spokeswoman was quoted as saying.
Democrats raised concerns about the raids, seen as the first concerted effort by ICE under the Trump administration. California’s Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said the reports show “the serious consequences of the president’s executive order, which allows all undocumented immigrants to be categorized as criminals and requires increased enforcement in communities, rather than prioritizing dangerous criminals”.