Tesla’s Elon Musk, McCain come out against, Trump defends Muslim countries travel, refugee ban
Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., have joined the chorus of business and technology elites speaking out against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders restricting refugees and entry into the U.S. from seven Muslim nations.
Trump defended his moves on Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) today saying they will protect the U.S. from terrorism.
Musk joins CEOs of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) and Google parent Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) in speaking out against the Trump ban. A federal judge in New York has temporarily blocked Trump’s order which temporarily restricts entry into the U.S. from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Somalia.
Musk — who is serving on a Trump panel of CEOs — said this weekend the temporary bans are the wrong idea.
“The blanket entry ban on citizens from certain primarily Muslim countries is not the best way to address the country’s challenges,” Musk said via Twitter.
Musk is one of the founding forces behind PayPal (Nasdaq: PYPL), SolarCity and SpaceX. He’s also met with Trump about the U.S. economy and innovation.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has also come out against the Trump orders.
In a joint statement with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., McCain chided the order. (It’s posted below). McCain and Graham have battled Trump over trade, Russia and during the 2016 campaign.
Trump promised the bans during the 2016 campaign to help keep ISIS and other Islamic extremists out of the U.S. during the presidential campaign and followed through on that promise during his first full week in office.
“Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!,” Trump said via Twitter Sunday.
Trump has also said he would help Christians emigrate to the U.S. from Syria and other Muslim majority countries where they face persecution. The seven countries on the list have had problems with ISIS and other terror groups or have been linked to financing of Islamic extremists.
"Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!," Trump tweeted.
Musk — who considered Arizona for a $6 billion electric battery plant that he eventually located in Nevada — disagrees. SolarCity — which merged with Tesla last year — has also had some big battled with Arizona Public Service and its parent Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW) over solar policies.
“Many people negatively affected by this policy are strong supporters of the US. They’ve done right, not wrong and don’t deserve to be rejected,” Musk tweeted.
The Trump orders on immigration, travel and refugees from the Muslim countries has galvanized progressive, business and other opponents even more than the new president’s moves related to trade deals and Mexico.
Trump first talked about restricting travel from some Muslim countries after the 2015 San Bernardino terror attack.
Protesters and immigration attorneys have convened at major U.S. airports in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago and Phoenix.
Attorneys from the Arizona Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association are at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport this weekend ready to help any passengers impacted or worried about Trump’s moves.
“We will be waiting outside of the international arrivals terminal at Sky Harbor in the event that a passenger is unlawfully denied entry into the United States in violation of the federal judge’s stay,” said Ruben L Reyes, chair for the Arizona immigration attorneys group, which opposes the Trump actions.
Here's the full statement from McCain and Graham:
“Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.
“It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump’s executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.
“Such a hasty process risks harmful results. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children.
“Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.”
Mike Sunnucks writes about residential and commercial real estate, government, law, sports business and workplace issues.
