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Hawaii Has No Case Against Revised Travel Executive Order

The new lawsuit filed by Hawaii against President Donald Trump’s revised March 6 immigration executive order is just as unsound as the lawsuits filed by other states against the original order—despite what some courts have said about the original order or may say about the revised order.

Executive Order 13780, “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” imposes a 90-day suspension of entry from six terrorist safe havens in the Middle East and Africa until the administration is assured that our vetting procedures are sufficient to prevent dangerous aliens from getting into our country.

The order doesn’t apply to any foreigners who have already been granted a visa or permission to be in the country, such as permanent, resident aliens.

It also repeats the 120-day temporary suspension of refugee admissions for the same reason: to ensure we have sufficient vetting to stop what has happened in the past in the U.S. and has been happening in Europe in terms of terrorists successfully using the refugee process to get into the European Union.

Hawaii’s lawsuit consists almost entirely of policy arguments as opposed to legal claims, and the legal claims that are made are far-fetched.

There seems little doubt that the lawsuit was filed in Hawaii to take advantage of the generally liberal nature of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and its dominance by Democratic appointees. Seventy-two percent of the judges on that court were appointed by Democratic presidents, and at the district court level in Hawaii, the lawsuit has been assigned to Judge Derrick Watson, a President Barack Obama appointee.

The complaint attacks the president for issuing an order that prevents “immediate family members living in affected countries” from visiting their relatives in the United States, claiming that it will also prevent “universities, employers, and other institutions” from being able to “recruit or to welcome qualified individuals from the six designated countries.”

The basic legal flaw in all of this is that foreign aliens, whether they have family in the U.S. or not, have no constitutional right to enter the country. Neither universities, employers, nor other institutions have any constitutional right to recruit foreign aliens for jobs or positions except to the extent that Congress, which has plenary power over immigration, allows them to do so.

The complaint does at least acknowledge that Congress gave the president plenary power, in 8 U.S.C. §1182(f), to suspend the entry of any aliens into the country if he believes their entry would be “detrimental” to the United States. However, the complaint claims the president’s order “exceeds” his authority under this statute.

But given its broad grant of authority, it is hard to imagine how the president could possibly be exceeding his authority.

That is particularly true given the fact that the revised order explicitly states how the six designated countries are connected to the terrorism problem we face.

Three of the countries—Iran, Syria, and Sudan—are listed by the State Department as official sponsors of terrorism, while the other three—Libya, Somalia, and Yemen—were listed as “countries of concern” because of their terrorism problems by Jeh Johnson, homeland security secretary under Obama.

None of this matters to Hawaii, which claims that these countries were chosen only in order to discriminate against the Muslim religion, a claim that cannot be supported by the facts or the plain terms of the executive order.

After all, there are approximately 50 countries in the world with a majority Muslim population, yet entry from all of those countries with the exception of these six is not restricted or affected in any way by this revised executive order.

Instead of making rational, legal arguments, this complaint reads like a press release and makes outrageous claims, such as comparing this revised executive order to “the Chinese Exclusion acts and the imposition of martial law and Japanese internment after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.”

In fact, there are only seven pages of legal claims within the entire 38-page complaint.

The complaint also makes another basic error: It tries to fault the administration and claim some nefarious purpose behind the fact that these six countries were chosen and not other countries “whose nationals have perpetrated fatal terrorist attacks in the United States.”

But these six countries were chosen because they are either state sponsors of terrorism (and whose information on visa applicants can therefore not be trusted) or failing governments (like Libya) whose information cannot be trusted for similar reasons.

That stands in contrast to the working relationships we have with the government, military, and intelligence services of other countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which makes vetting their citizens more reliable.

By the way, given all of the concern that Hawaii expresses in this complaint for visitors, immigrants, and refugees, it is ironic to note that according to the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Hawaii only took in a grand total of seven refugees in fiscal year 2015 out of the almost 70,000 taken into the U.S.

None were from the six countries affected by the executive order. Only the very liberal and “compassionate” District of Columbia took in fewer refugees—five—that year.

In addition to the state of Hawaii, the complaint was filed on behalf of Ismail Elshikh, the imam of the Muslim Association of Hawaii. His main claim is that because of the executive order, his mother, who is a Syrian national, will be prevented from “obtaining a visa to visit or reunite with her family in Hawaii.”

Yet the complaint admits that the last time she visited was in 2005. Given that, it seems contrived to base a claim of constitutional harm on an application for a visa being possibly delayed for another 90 days after a 12-year absence.

And, of course, the revised executive order does allow for case-by-case waivers by the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security in appropriate circumstances, including when a “foreign national seeks to enter the United States to visit or reside with a close family member … ”

There are a series of cases upholding the authority of the federal government to suspend visa entry. These include Knauff v. Shaughnessy (1950), in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the exclusion without a hearing or any other form of due process of the alien war bride of an American citizen because her entry was considered detrimental to the interests of the U.S.

Not only was this held to be constitutional, but the Supreme Court said that it was not within the province of any court “to review the determination of the political branch of the Government to exclude a given alien.”

Moreover, the admission of aliens into this country is not a right, but a privilege. The supposed “due process” rights of any such alien are limited to the “procedures authorized by Congress.”

The complaint even raises the First Amendment, claiming that Trump’s order violates the Establishment Clause. The facts don’t support that claim since this executive order does not discriminate on the basis of religion.

But more importantly, the Supreme Court said in 1972 in Kleindienst v. Mandel, an alien exclusion case, that it would not review the reasons for the executive’s determination “nor test it by balancing its justification against the First Amendment.”

This lawsuit appears to be a public relations exercise masquerading as a legal claim. If the Hawaii District Court or the 9th Circuit rule against this order, it will be another example of the courts ignoring the law and prior precedent.

Trump’s revised executive order is both legal and reasonable. It balances the need for national security and protecting the safety of the American public with the compassion we show in our welcoming of immigrants and visitors from all over the world. (For more from the author of “Hawaii Has No Case Against Revised Travel Executive Order” please click HERE)

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5 Facts You Need to Know About Hawaii’s Unhinged Lawsuit Against Trump

Here we go again. In response to President Trump’s rewritten travel moratorium, the state of Hawaii is suing to block it.

Here are some key takeaways from the Aloha State’s complaint:

1. They’re still going after Trump’s campaign promises

Literally the first allegations against President Trump have to do with the things he said on the campaign trail, rather than the executive order itself, which the 9th Circuit dangerously invoked in its ruling on the previous executive order.

“President Trump repeatedly campaigned on the promise that he would ban Muslim immigrants and refugees from entering the United States,” reads the document, before listing specific instances, “particularly from Syria, and maintained the same rhetoric after he was elected.”

It goes on to allege: “Within a week of being sworn in, President Trump acted upon his ominous campaign promises to restrict Muslim immigration, curb refugee admissions, and prioritize non-Muslim refugees.”

Once again, even if an executive order contains nothing about banning Muslims, it apparently becomes a ‘Muslim ban’ when someone says mean things.

2. It deceptively sources and presents its information

In an attempt to show a supposedly-negligible effect of the moratorium, the complaint cites a report from the Cato Institute, deceptively alleging that “not a single fatal terrorist attack has been perpetrated in the United States by a national of one of these seven countries since at least 1975.”

The operative word here is “fatal.” Luckily, nobody was killed by the 72 individuals from the original seven (now six) countries convicted on terrorism charges since the September 11 attacks alone.

3. The personal injuries listed in the case include someone’s mother-in-law

One of the named plaintiffs, Ismail Elshikh, PhD — the Imam of the Muslim Association of Hawaii — is claiming injury because his non-citizen mother-in-law can’t come from Egypt to visit.

“The new Executive Order will prevent Dr. Elshikh’s mother-in-law from obtaining a visa to visit or reunite with her family in Hawai‘I,” reads the document. “Under the new Executive Order, however, Dr. Elshikh fears that his mother-in-law will, once again, be unable to “enter” the country under Section 2(c) of the Executive Order. The family is devastated.”

Since when does even a U.S. citizen have a Constitutional right to get a visit from his non-citizen mother-in-law?

The complaint also makes the same claims about members of Elsikh’s mosque, who now supposedly “live in forced separation from those family and friends.” Apparently, in Elshikh’s mind, the travel moratorium also precludes people from leaving the country as well.

4. There’s a lot about feelings going on here

Even though the moratorium very clearly isn’t a Muslim ban by its language, one of the reasons Hawaii is suing is because Elsshikh’s family and mosque feels like it is.

So things become Establishment Clause violations when someone’s feelings get hurt? When did that happen?

Dr. Elshikh feels that, as a result of the new executive order, there is now a favored and disfavored religion the state, He also claims that members of his family here in the U.S. are “deeply affected” by the order, which allegedly “conveys to them a message that their own country would discriminate against individuals who share their ethnicity.”

Wait, is this supposed to be a Muslim ban or an Egyptian Arab ban? Religion isn’t race, folks.

5. Hawaii is affected because … reasons?

Citing many of the same arguments as the last go-round, Hawaii’s lawyers also argued that the order has “profound effects on the State as a whole.”

The claims of injury against the state of Hawaii are especially laughable. According to the document, the injuries include not being able to accept students from the zones into the University of Hawaii and, “More broadly, the new Executive Order means that Hawai‘i will be unable to honor the commitments to nondiscrimination and diversity embodied in Case the State’s Constitution, laws, and policies.”

Let’s just forget for a moment that the Constitution sets Congress as the sole arbiter of U.S. immigration policy and that Congress has passed federal statute granting the president the ability to shut down immigration for national security reasons; Hawaii’s feelings are hurt, so their public university and legislature should set immigration policy instead?

So here we are again. The fact that the exercise executive power is backed up by 200 years of law, precedent, and the Constitution goes out the window apparently doesn’t matter if you hurt someone’s feelings.

But this should come as no surprise. As admirable as the intention was to rewrite the order to stand up to scrutiny (albeit with the mistake of taking Iraq off the list), there was no way to write this to avoid a situation like this. And Hawaii is in the (surprise!) 9th federal circuit, meaning the same backflip-cutting court that produced last month pile of jurisprudential drivel will have yet another chance to rule on the same and similar nonsense arguments.

Even in situations where the president has clear authority — as he does in this one — he will have to scale a wall of black robes and activist decisions at nearly every turn. Unless Congress does as it has before and limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts on issues like these, the administration should expect 3.75 more years of similar rewrites. (For more from the author of “5 Facts You Need to Know About Hawaii’s Unhinged Lawsuit Against Trump” please click HERE)

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Hawaii’s Big Island Declares Emergency Over Dengue Fever Infections

The mayor of Hawaii’s Big Island declared a state of emergency on Monday to deal with a growing outbreak of dengue fever, spread by infected mosquitoes, with 250 cases confirmed over the past four months.

As a result of Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi’s order people on the Big Island will be allowed to resume disposing of old tires in landfills, since tires which are left lying around are a known breeding spot for mosquitoes.

There have been 250 confirmed cases of dengue fever on the island since Oct. 29, making it the largest outbreak in the state since the 1940s, according to the mayor’s declaration and Hawaii health officials . . .

Hawaii Governor David Ige said in a statement he supported the efforts on the Big Island but would not issue a statewide emergency declaration unless the outbreak spread to other islands or expanded to include other diseases, such as the Zika virus. (Read more from “Hawaii’s Big Island Declares Emergency Over Dengue Fever Infections” HERE)

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Supreme Court Justice Blocks Native Hawaiian Vote Count

A U.S. Supreme Court justice on Friday issued a temporary stay blocking the counting of votes in an election that would be a significant step toward Native Hawaiian self-governance.

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s order also stops the certification of any winners pending further direction from him or the entire court.

Native Hawaiians are voting to elect delegates for a convention next year to come up with a self-governance document to be ratified by Native Hawaiians. Voting ends Monday. (Read more from “Supreme Court Justice Blocks Native Hawaiian Vote Count” HERE)

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Chinese Suggest Arming Hawaiian Independence Activists Due to US-Taiwan Arms Sales

Photo Credit: Free Beacon China has suggested arming Hawaii’s independence activists in retaliation for U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and recently threatened to challenge American sovereignty by making legal claims to the Pacific islands as its territory.

Chinese threats to back several groups of Hawaiian independence activists who want to restore the islands’ constitutional monarchy, ousted in a U.S.-backed coup over a century ago, has raised concerns that military facilities on the strategic central Pacific archipelago are threatened at a time when the Obama administration is engaged in a major shift toward Asia as part of its military and diplomatic rebalance.

Michael Pillsbury, a Pentagon consultant and author of the recent book 100 Year Marathon, said Chinese military hawks, known as “ying pai,” told him they are ready to provide arms to Hawaiian independence activists in retaliation for U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

“Beijing’s extraordinary sensitivity to American arms sales to Taiwan—even one bullet or a spare tire for a jeep—often provokes angry words,” said Pillsbury who has held talks with 35 Chinese generals in recent years.

“A favorite comparison the ying pai has made to me is ‘How would the Pentagon like it if we provide arms to our friends in Hawaiian independence movement?’” he said. “I was incredulous because I had never heard of such a movement in Hawaii, but, after checking I met a few of them.” (Read more about the Hawaiian Independence Movement attracting Chinese interest HERE)

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