We said earlier this week that Donald Trump was a poor choice for Republican voters in the primaries. We advised against voting for him, first because he is not a conservative in any sense of the word, and second because he is also a bad candidate who will be crushed in the general election if nominated.
Vindication surely came in the wake of Trump’s declaration that he would make America a Muslim-free zone. This might be the most ridiculous campaign promise we have heard, although there is stiff competition.
Strictly speaking, Trump does not propose to deport all Muslims, but he said he’d temporarily bar Muslim citizens who are abroad and want to come home. This would force American Muslims to choose whether to run the risk of doing what their faith demands and making a pilgrimage to Mecca and not being allowed to return to America. It is difficult to judge whether this policy is more unworkable or more disgraceful; it is certainly both. Such a law would likely be considered a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, because it allows government to impose a massive and unjustifiable burden on the free practice of religion.
To address the law, courts would certainly not tolerate an official policy of barring citizens from entering their own country on the basis of their religion, any more than they would tolerate a return to segregated movie theaters or lunch counters. The mere suggestion is so absurd that it refutes itself.
As for immigrants and visitors, it is true that the United States is under no legal or constitutional obligation to let any particular person into the country. But the suggestion that all Muslim immigrants and visitors should be barred as a matter of policy is simply repugnant — about as un-American as a ban on baseball or apple pie. It has sparked outrage at all points along the ideological spectrum. Freedom of religion is a value that conservatives hold deeply, and liberals are especially sensitive to discrimination against minorities, including minority religions.
It is almost embarrassing to be obliged to treat this policy seriously rather than to dismiss it out of hand. But this is not possible for, at present, Trump maintains strong public support in his run for the White House. So, taking it seriously, let’s ask the practical question of how one is supposed to determine the faith of a visitor or immigrant. Are we to create a government agency with, as it happens, precisely the remit of the Spanish Inquisition in 1478, to judge the sincerity of conversions to the Christian faith when non-Christians were being expelled from Spain?
As far as keeping America safe from terrorism, lawmakers have it right where Trump has it wrong. The standards for background checks on potential immigrants and visitors, especially from countries where Islamic terrorism thrives, are too lax and must be tightened.
Trump appears to have staked out this position as a gamble. He made the announcement just as a second poll was published showing Ted Cruz overtaking him in Iowa. Perhaps Trump believes that he can gain an advantage or at least stop the bleeding by taking the most extreme position imaginable. Or maybe this is just part of the Trump campaign strategy, along with his assent to special Muslim ID cards and tracking, and his assertion that Mexican immigrants are “doing the raping.” Perhaps he believes that if he proposes as many policies as possible that lead commentators to call him a fascist, then he can get more mileage complaining about “third-rate” and “loser” journalists calling him a fascist.
Religious freedom is one of the greatest things about America. This is a free country, so free that even someone as obnoxious as Donald Trump is permitted to live here. Americans would have it no other way.
