WHAT DOES THE CURRENT LAW SAY ABOUT IT?
US immigration law already prohibits members of a communist party from becoming naturalized citizens or having permanent residency, or a green card, said Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, a New York-based institute. Washington DC that advocates reducing immigration to the country.
The legislation establishes that any person “who is or has been a member or affiliate of the Communist Party or of any other totalitarian party (or subdivision or affiliate thereof), national or foreign, is inadmissible.”
The origin of this rule dates back to 1918, when the government began to worry about “external threats from anarchism and communism,” according to the policy manual of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. At that time, which coincided with the end of World War I, communism was taking hold in the Soviet Union, and Washington would soon impose strict immigration quotas.
But it contemplates some exceptions, for example, those who have had to join the Communist Party to obtain a job, or if the membership was issued when they were under 16 years of age, according to the immigration code.
The ban also does not apply to those who want to visit the country, either on a tourist visa or as a student.
During his speech, Trump said he would use a specific part of the immigration law — section 212(f) — to ban “all communists and all Marxists.” That heading grants broad authority to bar non-citizens from entering the country if their entry would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
ARE THERE PRECEDENTS?
Trump’s words about banning communists and Marxists from entering are reminiscent of one of his administration’s most controversial measures, often referred to by critics as the Muslim travel ban. Opponents cited Trump’s own tweets and rhetoric to argue that this move was discriminatory against Muslims. But the Supreme Court decided in favor of Trump by a vote of 5 to 4. The president of the court, John Roberts, explained in his day in a majority opinion that the justices were not assessing whether it was good policy, but whether it fell within of the considerable presidential authority over migration and his responsibility to maintain security in the country.
Arthur said the case was a clear indicator that he thought Trump would be on solid legal ground if he tried to keep communists and Marxists out of the country. In addition, he pointed out that foreign citizens trying to enter the country have very few of the rights that the constitution grants to Americans.
Trump was not the first president to use this specific immigration power to limit access. A 2020 Congressional Research Service report pointed to instances where other presidents had used it, but noted that Trump used it to impose broader restrictions than his predecessors.
BUT HOW WOULD IT REALLY WORK?
Bill Hing, a professor at the University of San Francisco and general counsel for the California-based Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said Trump would get in legal trouble if he only excluded all communists or Marxists.
According to Hing, in the entry restrictions upheld by the Supreme Court, the court paid special attention to the government’s efforts to check with its embassies abroad to see if they could guarantee that those coming from those nations would not be a threat to the United States.
“It has to have some justification,” Hing said.
Allen Orr, an immigration attorney and former president of the Washington, DC-based American Immigration Lawyers Association, echoed that view, adding that the version of the text that reached the high court included “a whole list of exceptions ”.
“It’s not a general ban if there are a lot of exceptions,” he said.
IF TRUMP IS ELECTED, WHO WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS PLAN?
Analysts point squarely to one country: China, where tens of millions of people are members of the Communist Party.
Bates Gill, executive director of the Asia Society’s Center for China Analysis, said such a move would affect China the most and should be viewed from that perspective. Beyond the large number of affiliates who are Chinese government officials, membership has traditionally been a route to advancement for often well-educated citizens from urban backgrounds with an international profile. Since the late 1990s, businessmen have also joined the party, he noted.
“In essence, you would be preventing the Chinese elite from entering the United States,” he said. “It would be huge and overwhelming and, of course, very damaging to the relationship with China.”
ARE THERE COMMUNISTS AND MARXISTS IN THE US TODAY?
There are a few, but judging by the national Communist Party affiliations, it’s a pretty small number.
The American Communist Party has about 15,000 people on its membership roll, said its co-chairman, Joe Sims. The list is “regularly reviewed,” he added, but some may not be active members.
The party is growing with 2,000 to 3,000 new members a year, and has fielded some candidates in school districts or municipalities, he added.
But it has no representatives in federal or state elected offices and has not run for president since the mid-1980s, Sims said.
SO WHY IS TRUMP TALKING ABOUT THEM SO MUCH?
Sowing fear that communists and Marxists are about to take control of the country has worked for him when it comes to mobilizing his bases.
While there is no real risk that the United States could soon become a “Third World Marxist regime,” as Trump has suggested, these attacks have helped him fan the emotions of voters in a country with a long history of anti-communist sentiment. .
The tactic has also helped him attract some migrants whose families suffered oppression and political persecution under communist regimes in countries like Venezuela, Cuba and Vietnam.
Trump has also unfoundedly referred to his Democratic rivals by those terms since he appeared on the political scene, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have recently joined in with similar attacks, claiming that the policies “ woke” (liberals) in the country are part of a Marxist agenda.
Experts say it’s false to suggest that major US institutions are run by communists or Marxists.
Biden, for example, is a champion of capitalism who has taken executive action to promote economic competition.
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Swenson reported from New York.
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