President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration was legal, but its rollout wasn’t the White House’s best day. Initially, there was a murky area concerning green card holders, which was corrected by the Trump White House hours later. Regardless, at least two federal judges have issued stays on the order, specifically the 120-day travel moratorium from seven predominantly Muslim countries, three of which are designated as state sponsors of terrorism. And most of those seven are considered failed states.
There were reports that Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and other key principals were more or less kept in the dark about the orders, which the DHS secretary dispelled this week—noting that he knew these directives were coming. Kelly also defended the rollout, though Guy noted that the execution of the order shows that the Trump White House might be on a learning curve regarding policy. As a result, the DHS’ inspector general is going to investigate the rollout (via The Hill):
The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General is investigating the implementation of President Trump’s controversial executive order suspending the U.S. refugee program and curtailing travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.The review, announced late Wednesday, was initiated “in response to congressional request and whistleblower and hotline complaints,” according to a statement.
Trump's order, signed Friday, indefinitely halted the entry of refugees from Syria and suspended the broader U.S. refugee program for 120 days.
It also blocks all people from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia from entering the United States.
The move sparked protests across the country and has drawn criticism even from Republicans, thanks to a bumpy rollout.
DHS officials and Trump himself have insisted that the initial implementation of the order went smoothly.
The order has sparked more than a dozen legal challenges.
Even if this was a bumpy rollout, Trump isn’t a politician, so it’s possible that he might have a learning curve, but this administration is capable of rolling out aspects of their agenda without any glitches whatsoever as well. The rollout for his Supreme Court nominee, appellate Judge Neil Gorsuch, was nothing short of perfect, with the Trump White House consulting with agencies, Congress, and advocacy groups. CNN’s Jake Tapper gave a hat tip on that front Tuesday night. So, if there was a learning curve, it wasn’t a big one. Past administrations have hit divots in their first weeks in power. Former President Obama had some cabinet nominees that didn’t pay their taxes, a problem that killed Tom Daschle’s nomination to head up Health and Human Services.