Travel Ban: Trump Wanted To Wait, Was Not Allowed

The travel ban happened earlier than U.S. President Donald Trump’s preferred timeline. The declaration comes from the man himself. Trump said he was not allowed to wait to impose the ban. This was the first time the U.S. president talked openly about the controversial ban and the process around it. On Wednesday, he was candid about his hesitations about imposing the ban right away.

Trump said he wanted to wait, but law enforcement officials did not allow him to. While Trump said it should wait for a month, the officials in Washington argued against it. The president still wanted to press it, as he insisted on waiting for at least a week before putting the executive order regarding the immigration ban into effect. Trump thought people traveling to the United States should be given a notice first before they are prohibited from doing it. But the officials argued that Trump should not give a prior notice.

The travel ban has arguably been the most controversial decision Trump has taken since he took up the top job in the country. So far, he has been defending the decision. He has also been slamming those who are against it. That includes the federal judge who halted Trump’s executive order to ban people from seven Muslim-majority countries from traveling to the United States.

President Trump earlier slammed U.S. Federal Judge James Robart for halting his executive order. He took a dig at the judge on Twitter, as he said he could not believe that a judge would put the country “in such peril.” He asked people to blame the judge “if something happens.” However, while talking at a conference for the Major Cities Chiefs Association on Wednesday, Trump clarified that he was hesitant about imposing the ban right away.

The travel ban would be ineffective if Trump waited to impose it, according to the law enforcement officials. They argued, if Trump gave a notice, people would “pour in before the toughness.” Trump did not name the officials who were responsible for overruling the U.S. president while taking such a strong decision. Nevertheless, the argument in favor of imposing the immigration ban right away is not convincing enough, according to CNN.

There is a lengthy process of applying for refugee status or, at least, getting an American visa. Even if Trump waited for a month before putting the executive order into effect, it would not have troubled the law and order situation much. The visa-obtaining process does not allow migrants to rush in. People are allowed only when they pass intelligence reviews and background checks.

While revealing the inside story behind the travel ban, Trump appreciated how well his administration managed to handle it. The immigration ban bans all refugees from traveling to the U.S. for 120 days, seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days, and Syrian refugees for an indefinite period. “We do things well. We did things right,” Trump said. “It’s as plain as you can have it.”

This is, however, not the first time Trump talked about waiting for the ban to happen and its probable effects. “If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the ‘bad’ would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad ‘dudes’ out there!” Trump posted on Twitter on January 30.

It is not immediately clear who overruled Trump’s decision to wait for the travel ban. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer earlier explained why the administration should not have waited for the ban. “We don’t know when the next terrorist is going to enter this country,” he said.

“The last thing that you want to do is to say, ‘Well, we could’ve done this Saturday, but we waited one more day.'”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcoSOu0RO-U

[Featured Image by Andrew Harrer – Pool/Getty Images]