Yet again, President Trump’s moves to limit immigration from nations that do not have effective vetting procedures have been challenged by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. A panel has ruled that his orders are against federal law and exceed the scope of his authority.
This is the third version of Trump’s Executive Order to be batted back; each time resubmitted with a narrower and more precise set of instructions. In the court’s ruling, the panel said:
“We conclude that the President’s issuance of the Proclamation once again exceeds the scope of his delegated authority.”
The Ruling
At present, the travel restrictions cover individuals from eight countries and bans them from access to the U.S. Despite the 9th Circuit’s ruling, this will stay in place except for those who have “bonafide” relationships with people already in America.
The decision was made that “the Proclamation’s indefinite entry suspensions constitute nationality discrimination in the issuance of immigrant visas.” However, the court will not seek to change activities until it appears before the Supreme Court, which has already ruled (at the beginning of December) that the restriction can be enforced while the litigation goes through the motions.
The Narrative
This being the third iteration of Donald Trump’s travel restrictions gives the impression that he and his administration have problems putting through valid executive actions; and this, unfortunately, is the aim. The opposition taking place through “friendly” courts is designed not to ultimately defeat the president’s Executive Order, but rather to frustrate the process and make him look incompetent.
Each time a court rules against him, the Resistance wins a “Narrative Victory.” With the help of the complicit, leftist media, they portray the president as a lonely, angry man who doesn’t understand the system in which he has found himself. But this does not reflect the reality.
Wealthy special interest groups with powerful friends can bring a legal action that will feed into the narrative and delay progress…But that doesn’t mean it is valid. The groups do not expect to win the legal challenge in the long-term, merely to obfuscate and feed into the idea of legal incompetence.
Trump’s Position
What is being largely ignored by the leftist media is that President Trump has actually proven himself a competent man who can play the “Hill Game” as well as anyone else. Despite numerous distractions and portents of failure, he has managed to get the most sweeping tax reform of the last 30 years through both the Senate and House with minimal concessions.
The same will be true of his travel restrictions. It is considered likely that the Supreme Court will allow him to continue with very few alterations to his latest plan, but this will not stop the same groups bringing forward more cases to delay implementation.
The only remaining question is how much damage will be done to President Trump’s reputation in the eyes of those who don’t understand that there are unscrupulous people who will use legal challenges to further a narrative. There is almost a sense of desperation in the air on the left as 2018 approaches. Without the “fairytale narrative” being in the minds of potential voters, the left is lacking any real answer to the legislative powerhouse known as Donald J. Trump.
