During his campaign to become president, Donald Trump was an outspoken advocate for stricter immigration laws. Illegal immigrants, he argued, brought increased crime to the United States. But, in promoting his immigration policies, Trump often focused on a specific type of crime: terrorism. He repeatedly suggested that terrorists were pouring across the southern border into the United States. One of his first executive orders was Executive Order 13769, which he argued would address this problem. It barred entry and visas from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States,” the President said it would prevent…

• The entry of Syrian refugees and nations from a list who “perform ‘honor’ killings,
• Other forms of violence against women
• The persecution of those who practice religions different from their own
• The persecution of those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.” 

President Trump later signed a new order exempting Iraq after his first order faced several federal court challenges. The move sparked outrage among the Left, who decried it as a discriminatory, Islamaphobic Muslim ban. On the day of his inauguration, President Biden repealed the travel ban, among other related executive immigration policies.