As the fallout continued on Saturday over President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from specific nations, libertarian-leaning Republican Congressman Justin Amash criticized the move in a series of Tweets:
Videos by Rare
1/ Like Pres. Obama's executive actions on immigration, Pres. Trump's executive order overreaches and undermines our constitutional system.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
2/ It's not lawful to ban immigrants on basis of nationality. If the president wants to change immigration law, he must work with Congress.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
3/ The president's denial of entry to lawful permanent residents of the United States (green card holders) is particularly troubling.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
4/ Green card holders live in the United States as our neighbors and serve in our Armed Forces. They deserve better.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
5/ We must do much more to properly vet refugees, but a blanket ban represents an extreme approach not consistent with our nation's values.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
6/ While EO allows admittance of immigrants, nonimmigrants, and refugees "on a case-by-case basis," arbitrariness would violate Rule of Law.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
7/ EO appears to be more about politics than safety. If concern is radicalism/terrorism, then what about Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others?
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
8/ Finally, we can't effectively fight homegrown Islamic radicalism by perpetuating “us vs. them” mindset that terrorists use to recruit.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) January 28, 2017
Rep. Amash, one of the few Arab-American members of Congress, has expressed reservations in the past about the inadequacies of U.S. vetting process for refugees.
“It is a long process,” Amash told Reason in March 2016, “but contrary to what I at first believed, it is not a very rigorous process.”
“[A]s a person who also has to ensure the safety of Americans,” Amash said almost a year ago, “I have to make sure that we have a system in place where we can know who they are. If they don’t have documentation, there needs to be some other process for figuring out who this person is.”
Amash has a reputation as one of the strictest constitutionalists in the House and has been willing to call out abuses no matter which party commits them. “I’m not here to represent a particular political party; I’m here to represent all of my constituents and to follow the Constitution,” Amash told the Huffington Post in July.
Rep. Amash expressed concerns about Trump’s view of the Constitution to The Hill in December, “I don’t think it’s out of any bad intention. I think he just views the job in a sort of ‘extra-constitutional’ way, outside of the Constitution.”