Trump proposes political tests for immigrants
Republican candidate lays out new immigration policy in campaign speech
The Associated Press Posted: Aug 15, 2016 11:26 AM ET, Last Updated: Aug 15, 2016 2:56 PM ET, http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/t...immigrants-1.3721288
Donald Trump on Monday called for a new ideological test for admission to the United States, vetting applicants on their stance on issues like religious freedom, gender equality and gay rights. The policy would represent a significant shift in how the U.S. manages entry into the country.
In a speech in swing state Ohio, Trump also called for "foreign policy realism" and a "decisive and swift" end to nation-building if he were elected president. And he argued that the United States needs to work with countries that share the mission of destroying the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and other extremist organizations, regardless of other disagreements.
"We can't choose our friends, but we can never fail to recognize our enemies," Trump said.
The Republican nominee's foreign policy address comes during a rocky stretch for his campaign. He's struggled to stay on message and has consistently overshadowed his policy rollouts, including an economic speech last week, with provocative statements, including falsely declaring that President Barack Obama was the "founder" of ISIS.
Democrat Hillary Clinton has spent the summer hammering Trump as unfit to serve as commander in chief. She's been bolstered by a steady stream of Republican national security experts who argue the billionaire businessman lacks the temperament and knowledge of world affairs to be president.
Clinton spent Monday campaigning with Vice-President Joe Biden in Scranton, Pa., a working-class area where both have family ties. Biden vigorously vouched for Clinton's readiness for the White House and called Trump's foreign policy views "dangerous" and "un-American."
Biden also warned that Trump's false assertion about Obama founding ISIS could be used by extremists to target American service members in Iraq. "The threat to their life has gone up a couple clicks," he said.
Clinton knocked Trump for having previously said he prefers to keep his foreign policy proposals secret in order to catch enemies by surprise.
"Then it turns out the secret is he has no plan," she said.
U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is expected to lay out new foreign policy and immigration proposals today during a campaign speech in Ohio. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
Blame Obama, Clinton for ISIS
Before outlining his plan, Trump spent significant time in his speech going after Obama and Clinton, the former secretary of state, blaming them for policies he argues allowed ISIS to spread.
"Hillary Clinton lacks the judgment, stability and temperament and the moral character to lead our nation," he said, echoing many of the criticisms Clinton has made about him. "She also lacks the mental and physical stamina to take on ISIS and all the many adversaries we face."
"I was an opponent of the Iraq war from the beginning," Trump said â an oft-repeated statement that many have pointed out is less than truthful.
Questionnaires, social media
Trump said that any country that wants to work with the U.S. to defeat "radical Islamic terrorism" will be a U.S. ally â including Russia.
Under Trump's new immigration policy, the government would use questionnaires, social media, interviews with friends and family or other means to determine if applicants support American values like tolerance and pluralism. The U.S. would stop issuing visas in any case where it cannot perform adequate screenings.
It is unclear how U.S. officials would assess the veracity of responses to the questionnaires or how much manpower it would require to complete such arduous vetting. The campaign has yet to say whether additional screenings would apply to the millions of tourists who spend billions of dollars visiting the United States each year.
Hillary Clinton's campaign slammed Trump's campaign manager for ties to Russia and pro-Kremlin interests, an apparent reference to a New York Times story published Sunday night. (Andrew Harnik/Associated Press)
Broader vision
It is the latest version of a policy that began with Trump's unprecedented call to temporarily bar foreign Muslims from entering the country â a religious test that was criticized across party lines as un-American. Following a massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., in June, Trump introduced a new standard, vowing to "suspend immigration from areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies, until we fully understand how to end these threats."
That proposal raised numerous questions that the campaign never clarified, including whether it would apply to citizens of countries like France, Israel or Ireland, which have suffered recent and past attacks. Trump had promised to release his list of "terror countries" soon. But now, aides say, the campaign needs access to unreleased Department of Homeland Security data to assess exactly where the most serious threats lie.
While Trump has been criticized for failing to lay out detailed policies, aides say Monday's speech was to focus on his broader vision. Additional speeches with more details are expected in coming weeks, they said.
Seeking to beat back criticism of his struggling campaign, Trump and his top advisers have blamed the media for failing to focus on his proposals.
"If the disgusting and corrupt media covered me honestly and didn't put false meaning into the words I say, I would be beating Hillary by 20 percent," he tweeted Sunday.
