Rescinding the Travel Ban Will Improve National Security

According to Senior National Immigration Forum Advisor Elizabeth Neumann, President Biden has an opportunity to enhance national security by rescinding former President Trump’s travel and refugee bans. Neumann argues that the bans, perceived as discriminatory abroad,  harmed  our global reputation and standing, reduced access to medical care in the rural U.S. by shutting off the flow of medical talent, and slowed the national security community’s response to domestic terror threats. In Rescinding the Travel Ban Will Improve National Security, Neumann nonetheless argues that President Biden should incorporate certain security initiatives outlined in President Trump’s Executive Order 13780 and Proclamation 9645 into his plan to rescind the travel and refugee bans. While she asserts that these bans were misguided and damaging, she argues Biden should keep the programs and tools that were created under section two of Executive Order 13780, which "were developed to run a systematic evaluation of all countries” to support the travel ban. These specific tools can be repurposed to help other countries address vulnerabilities in their identity management and information sharing practices, thereby enhancing global security overall without instituting punitive travel restrictions. Neumann concludes by offering recommendations to both the Biden administration and to Congress on how to repurpose these tools to aid national security. (Corey A. Calhoun for The Immigrant Learning Center’s Public Education Institute)

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