A fresh djt Executive Order may be the scariest one yet [View all]

Opinion by Sabrina Haake, Raw Story
Refers to Trump’s EO, “PROTECTING THE UNITED STATES FROM FOREIGN TERRORISTS AND OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS.”

This week, the State Department announced that it is formally increasing “social media vetting” for all student and exchange visitor visa applicants. Enhanced “vetting” means federal employees will scourge the laptops, cellphones and personal devices of applicants seeking entry to the US on F, M, or J visas to see what they’ve posted, re-posted, engaged with, and liked on their personal Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram accounts.

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Under the lizard-brain braggadocio of that EO, the administration announced its intention to “ensure that admitted aliens” in the US do not “bear hostile attitudes” toward the government. Given the depth and breadth of Trump’s illegal attacks against law firms that represented his political adversaries, mainstream media outlets that criticize him, and universities protecting academic freedoms, it is fair to assume that “hostile attitudes toward the government” means whatever Trump and his unqualified goons say it means.

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Trump’s obvious goal is to impose a political litmus test under which only pro-Trump, anti-liberal, and for now pro-Netanyahu visa holders are permitted entry. People who criticize the war in Gaza need not apply today. Tomorrow, the ban will apply to anyone who criticizes Trump’s destabilizing tariffs, his efforts to accelerate climate change, or his unprecedented corruption.

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As Trump spreads his thin-skinned efforts to kill the First Amendment, reports from non-student travelers are surfacing. Travelers report that they are “preparing for the worst” by deleting social media apps, destroying text messages, and removing identifiers from personal devices. After US citizens started reporting on TikTok that they were detained for hours on re-entry, an immigration lawyer’s video on citizens’ rights racked up more than 8 million views.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-s-war-on-free-speech-just-got-personal-opinion/ar-AA1FRWEl?cmp_prftch=1&ocid=msedgdhp&pc=EDGEESS&cvid=03a32ad6c6ee4ba4a97edd1f324b871e&ei=15

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https://www.alternet.org/alternet-exclusives/trump-free-speech/