Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, joined Boston Public Radio to address President Trump's second executive order banning travel from several Muslim-majority countries.
The first time around, President Donald Trump’s travel ban hit a range of legal snags. His order in January blocking citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States was struck down by a federal appeals court over concerns about discrimination.
On Monday, Trump unveiled a new version of the order. Some of its most controversial provisions—like its indefinite suspension of the Syrian refugee program—were removed. Iraq was also removed from the list of banned countries, reportedly after negotiations between Defense Secretary James Mattis and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
But critics say the ban’s central legal failing—the possibility that it is motivated by keeping Muslims out of the country—still holds.
Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, is among those critics. She says the intent of the original order is preserved in the second iteration.
"The fatal flaw of the original executive order on the Muslim ban, which is that it discriminates against people based on religious discriminatory intent—which is unconstitutional in America—is still there with the second Muslim ban. It doesn't fix the problem," she said.
