No day seems to pass without a controversial executive order issued by the White House. On Saturday, the US President banned the access of Syrian refugees indefinitely, while citizens from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen were forbidden to enter the country for ninety days. Likewise, refugees from states other than Syria will not be allowed into the USA for the next 120 days. This group includes students, academics, as well as the Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi, who was nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category at this year’s edition of the Academy Awards and thus was invited to the gala which will take place in Los Angeles, California, on 26^th January. The implementation of the order was immediate, and, as a result, citizens from the aforementioned states were stopped from boarding their flights to the USA.

Another domain which may be affected by the ban is sport, as athletes from the seven countries could be unable to train and compete in the USA. Furthermore, in case this decision eventually becomes more than a temporary measure, it is likely that it will have a negative impact on Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.

According to president Trump, these measures were taken against the threat of terrorism in the United States. However, the media and citizens all over the world have interpreted the executive order as an attack against Muslim communities in Africa and the Middle East, as well as against Muslim citizens residing in the US.

©Los Angeles 2024

©REUTERS

This controversial decision has led to protests attended by thousands in Washington DC and several other American cities. Moreover, Trump’s executive order has boosted the number of signatures in an online petition that aims at stopping his state visit to the UK, which had previously been announced by British Prime Minister Theresa May at a press conference following her meeting with the US President. The petition has gained over one million signatures so far, expressing the dissatisfaction of UK citizens with Trump’s policies.

©CNN

English-German glossary

to deny = verweigern

refugees = Flüchtlinge

indefinitely = auf unbestimmte Zeit

entry = Zugang

to issue = erlassen

to ban = verbieten

likewise = ähnlicherweise

film director = Filmregisseur

immediate = sofortig

aforementioned = obengennant

to board a flight = einen Flug antreten

temporary = vorläufig

bid = (hier) Bewerbung

measures = Maßnahmen

threat = Bedrohung

communities = Gemeinden

Middle East = Naher Osten

to reside = seinen Wohnsitz haben

to boost = antreiben

signatures = Unterschriften

state visits = Staatsbesuche

previously = zuvor

to gain = gewinnen

so far = bisher

dissatisfaction = Unzufriedenheit

policies = Politik