Pat Tillman’s widow, Marie Tillman, has spoken out regarding President Trump’s executive orders on refugees and immigration. The former NFL player turned down a lucrative contract with the then St. Louis Rams to join the Army Rangers, before being killed in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan.
Marie wrote a Facebook post detailing her opposition to the EO and her pledge to fight it. She wrote:
While few could pretend to understand her pain, and Marie Tillman certainly has the right to voice her opinion on any topic, the statements that the Trump EO’s are a “ban on immigration,” and that “this is not the country (Pat Tillman) dreamed of, not what he served for and not what he died for,” are troubling.
No one has banned immigration. President Trump issued a 90-day halt on the issuing of immigrant and non-immigrant visas from seven different Middle Eastern and African states strongly linked to terror.
That halt on the issuing of visas is three months shorter than the halt on the issuing of visas that then-President Barack Obama initiated in 2011, when he suspended all immigration from Iraq for six months.
Nor, did President Trump end the refugee relocation program, he suspended it for four months until a stronger vetting system could be implemented. Could bad things happen to Syrians while they’re waiting to come over? Sure. However, a lot of bad things could happen to Americans if those refugees are allowed to stream in without proper vetting.
And, taking care of Americans is President Trump’s number one priority.
What about Green Card holders? According to Conservative Review, “The statute is clear as day. The Immigration and Nationality Act (§ 212(f)) gives the president plenary power to “by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants.” Clearly, the president has the authority to block any non-citizen – including refugees, green card holders, and foreign students – from entering the country.
“Also, for purposes of deportation, there is no difference between a green card holder or a holder of a non-immigrant visa. No foreign national who has not yet obtained citizenship has an affirmative right to re-enter the country.”
Anyone can get swept up in the media maelstrom of lies about what President Trump has done. Hopefully Marie Tillman will avail herself of information like this and possibly come to see things differently. Or she won’t and she’ll go on doing what she thinks is right.
Regardless, what’s clear is that the characterization of President Trump’s EOs as something unlawful or un-American are completely contradictory to both the letter and spirit of the law. Trump is clearly fulfilling his duty as President by putting the security of Americans first.
And for my money, putting Americans first and upholding the rule of law is exactly what Pat Tillman fought and died for.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
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