Last week, the Department of Homeland Security provided the President with a report that undercut the White House’s argument for a travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries. That report concluded that since 2011, there has been very little terrorist activity by those from the countries listed in Trump’s proposed ban. The report stated that,
“[C]ountry of citizenship is unlikely to be a reliable indicator of potential terrorist activity.”
The President quickly rejected the report, saying that it did not include enough intel. After the President’s rebuke, DHS officials said the report was a merely a draft and not a finalized review of intelligence source.
Now, according to Rachel Maddow’s sources, a new internal DHS memo also contradicts the President’s claim. That document details Homeland Security’s conclusions on the ban,
“We assess that most foreign-born, US-based violent extremists likely radicalized several years after their entry to the United States, limiting the ability of screening and vetting officials to prevent their entry because of national security concerns.”
It is unlikely, though, that Trump will change course because of the reports. The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have both reported that the travel ban is just a small piece of the President’s overall goal of a total culture change in the country. The end game is to reduce the overall amount of immigrants in the United States. Post reporter Greg Sargent says that the White House has,
“[L]ong-term goals of protecting American workers from economic competition and preventing European-style immigrant communities (which incubate terror plotters) from developing here.”
The President has already started to build his case that Muslim neighborhoods are a source of unrest. Germany and Sweden have seen riots in predominantly Muslim communities in recent weeks and Trump sees those activities as justification for his Islamophobic views. Referring to growing Islamic communities in Europe, the President told the crowd at CPAC,
“Take a look at what’s happening in Sweden. Take a look at what’s happening in Germany. Take a look at what’s happened in France. Take a look at Nice and Paris.”
The President went on to say that a friend of his refuses to visit Paris any more because, “Paris is no longer Paris.”
Whether it is the courts shutting it down or government agencies disproving its need, the case for Trump’s travel ban is being deflated by the day. But it is increasingly clear that the President has much bigger and more troubling plans for reshaping the demographics of our country.
