From: A Student Reader at UMass Amherst [Email him]

Recently I got into argument with one of my more liberal minded friends regarding Trump’s proposition that we temporarily halt all Muslim immigration. He was parroting comments made by Hillary Clinton and members of the MSM that such inflammatory remarks have made Trump ISIS’ biggest recruiter, as it alienates Muslims and makes them more prone to radicalization. And so I asked him, “so what?” Why should we care if our immigration policies antagonize foreigners thousands of miles away, or even nearby for that matter?

His response was that this would lead to more attacks, such as those in Paris and San Bernardino, being committed on American soil. Well, not if we stop letting Muslims in. The threat that ISIS poses to our national security is not as a nation state with developed capabilities to launch intercontinental attacks, rather it is as individuals who enter the West by exploiting our general apathy towards border protection.

It is our own impotency that makes ISIS a threatening entity. Of course my friend brought up the issue of the Muslim minority within the US, and how they might be offended and potentially radicalized by any sort of ban.

In response I then asked if allowing Muslim immigration, or any immigration for that matter, is akin to a pact with the devil. Once begun, are we compelled to maintain the same immigration policy for fear of upsetting the foreigners that we have imported? Our forefathers didn’t think so, as evidenced by the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924. Although, I am in favor of a total and permanent moratorium on  all immigration, you have to start somewhere, and Trump seems to be the only candidate genuinely espousing immigration patriot views.

My hope is that if and when Trump wins the Republican candidacy, he emphasizes that regulating and restricting immigration is our national prerogative, and denying ourselves the right to do so is in effect denying our national sovereignty.