Chicago immigrant rights groups rally against possible new travel ban
Leaders of Chicago area immigrant rights groups gathered in Federal Plaza Wednesday to speak out against the anticipated return of President Trump's travel ban.
No ban has been implemented just yet. But just the conversations happening now about a possible ban have already led to an international travel drop-off, according to CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg.
Five community groups — representing the Arab, African, Asian, Latino, and broader immigrant community — joined together in Federal Plaza Wednesday to speak out against the anticipated reintroduction of a travel ban by the Trump administration, with leaked documents related to that possible ban published by the New York Times.
"While this ban may not yet be official policy, the repercussions are already being felt by our communities across the United States — and right here in Chicago," said Muhammad Sankari of the Arab American Action Network.
According to the New York Times report, there are 43 countries that could be impacted by a ban, with three tiers. In the red tier, the strictest of the three, all travel would be banned.
The next tier, orange, would involve visas sharply restricted, and the last, yellow, would involve 60 days to address concerns.
The full ban applies to 11 countries — Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Pakistan, Haiti, and Russia are among the countries on the orange list.
The yellow list for a 60-day ban includes vacation spots such as the Caribbean nations of St. Lucia, and Antigua and Barbuda.
"What is St. Lucia doing on this list? What is Antigua and Barbuda and other Caribbean countries doing on this list? We don't know," said Greenberg. "There's been no explanation."
Greenberg said the anticipated travel ban has already had consequences.
"Whether this ban goes into effect or not, even if it's a modified ban, the perception of it being so negative is so strong that we've already seen a specific drop-off in foreign travel to the United States over the last couple of weeks — it's about 22% under what it was this time last year," he said. "And people are reconsidering or actually canceling their trips to the United States."
Ed Yohnka, communications director for the Chicago office of the American Civil Liberties Union, released this statement:
"The ACLU opposed the Trump's first travel ban – including winning the first nationwide injunction against the practice. Barring people from entering our country on the basis of their religion and country of origin is not consistent with basic American values of fairness and respect for religious differences. We would not be surprised to see travel bans implemented in this second Trump Administration. His – his repeated efforts to target and punish anyone who does not align to his world view – have been on display for the past 2 months. The ACLU will continue to resist any such efforts."
Again, there is no official ban in place right now.
