NEW YORK: Donald Trump originally dubbed his executive order suspending refugee arrivals and barring visas for travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries a “Muslim ban,” according to the US president’s aide Rudy Giuliani.
“When he first announced it he said, ‘Muslim ban,’” the former New York mayor told Fox News late Saturday when asked whether the ban was connected to religion.
“Show me the right way to do it legally,” Giuliani — who Trump has tapped as his cybersecurity guru — said the US president told him.
The 72-year-old said he and a team of legal experts “focused on — instead of religion — danger!” when they drafted the immigration crackdown that has sparked a global outcry and mass protests.
Trump’s sweeping executive order, signed Friday, suspends the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and prohibits issuing visas for travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.
Giuliani said those predominately Muslim countries were targeted because they are “the areas of the world that create danger for us.”
“Which is a factual basis, not a religious basis,” he said.
The crackdown on Muslim immigration has infuriated civil rights groups and activists.
A federal judge blocked Saturday part of Trump’s ban, ordering authorities not to deport refugees and other travelers detained at US airports.
Trump originally asked for ‘Muslim ban’ says Giuliani
Trump originally asked for ‘Muslim ban’ says Giuliani
Philippine lawmakers start VP Duterte impeachment hearings
- The revived impeachment bid leans heavily on allegations that the younger Duterte misused public funds
MANILA: A Philippine congressional committee began impeachment hearings Monday that could dash Vice President Sara Duterte’s run for the country’s top job.
The daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who recently announced her candidacy for the 2028 presidential election, was impeached by the country’s House of Representatives last year only to see the Supreme Court toss the case out over procedural issues.
The revived impeachment bid leans heavily on allegations that the younger Duterte misused public funds while in office and will see the House justice committee debate three such complaints.
A fourth case was dropped by complainants who hoped to speed up the process.
Duterte also stands accused of making a death threat against her former ally and current President Ferdinand Marcos, with whom she is engaged in an explosive political feud.
Under the Philippine constitution, an impeachment triggers a Senate trial. A guilty verdict would result in Duterte being barred from politics and sidelined from the 2028 presidential race.
The latest impeachment bid faces a changed environment with the vice president ahead in recent polls, analysts told AFP.
“The political context will be very different, especially now that Sara declared her candidacy,” University of the Philippines political science professor Jean Franco said.
“It’s definitely going to weigh on the minds of the members of the House of Representatives,” Franco said, adding that a vote for impeachment would effectively see a lawmaker’s career “marked for death.”
Anthony Lawrence Borja, an associate professor of political science at De La Salle University agreed saying: “It is ultimately a question of whether the patronage of the current administration outweighs their fear of Duterte’s condemnation.”
The same committee hearing the case against Duterte last month tossed out a pair of impeachment complaints against Marcos, ruling that allegations of corruption over a scandal involving bogus flood control projects lacked substance.
Michael Wesley Poa, spokesman for Duterte’s defense team, told AFP they were closely monitoring deliberations and trusted “the same standards” used in the Marcos hearing would be applied.
