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Featured Article: “Trump Administration Adds Six Countries to Travel Ban” by Zolan Kanno-Youngs
In 2017, the Trump administration enacted a travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries, arguing that it was necessary for the safety and security of the United States. The ban was later revised, and on Friday, the administration added six more countries to the list: Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, as well as Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania.
In this lesson, you’ll learn more about the policy, including the rationale behind it and criticism of it. Then you’ll form your own opinion based on statistics and first-person accounts.
Warm Up
What do you know about President Trump’s travel ban, which was enacted in 2017 and was recently expanded to restrict immigration from six more countries, four of them in Africa? Have you or has anyone you know been affected by it?
For more background information, read this excerpt from the featured article:
Days after he came into office, Mr. Trump signed an executive order that closed the country’s borders to people from seven predominantly Muslim countries, making partial good on a campaign pledge “for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.”
The policy took even some of Mr. Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security officials by surprise and prompted widespread confusion at airports across the nation.
The ban drew several legal challenges but, after some adjustments, was narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court in June 2018. The ban initially restricted travel from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Chad — as well as Venezuela and North Korea. Chad was later removed from the list. The court’s majority argued that the policy was not a Muslim ban, citing the inclusion of North Korea and Venezuela and the administration’s process of granting exemptions.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. also wrote for the majority that Mr. Trump had the statutory authority to make national security judgments in the realm of immigration. More than 79,700 visas have been subject to the ban since December 2017, according to the State Department.
Then read this excerpt about the recent expansion:
President Trump on Friday added six countries to his list of nations facing stringent travel restrictions, a move that will virtually block immigration from Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, and from Myanmar, where the Muslim minority is fleeing genocide.
Beside Nigeria, three other African countries, Eritrea, Sudan and Tanzania, will face varying degrees of restrictions, as will one former Soviet state, Kyrgyzstan. Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims could also be caught in the crossfire.
All six countries have substantial Muslim populations. The total number of countries now on the restricted travel list stands at 13.
Immigrant visas, issued to those seeking to live in the United States, will be banned for Nigeria, Myanmar, Eritrea and Kyrgyzstan. The ban will also prevent immigrants from Sudan and Tanzania from moving to the United States through the diversity visa lottery, which grants green cards to as many as 50,000 people a year.
Highlight or list the key information in these excerpts that helps you understand the travel ban. See if you can summarize the main idea of these excerpts in one or two sentences. Then write down any questions you still have. If you’re in a classroom, share your thoughts with a partner and discuss.
