(The Center Square) – Members of the Port of Seattle Commission were joined by state and Seattle leaders to decry President Donald Trump’s recent travel bans against 12 countries, warning that it could harm the Pacific Northwest’s economy and immigrants.
Trump issued the travel ban last week after a man firebombed people in Boulder, Colo., who were demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages. He said the incident underscored “extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.” In addition, he pointed to high rates of visa overstays.
The countries listed on the ban include largely African and Middle Eastern nations like Afghanistan, the Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Iran and Somalia, among others. Egypt, the home country of Boulder attack suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, is not listed in the travel ban.
On Monday, the Port of Seattle Commission issued a Monday statement saying the Trump administration’s series of immigration policy changes “will not make our country safer but instead damage our global reputation and make the U.S. a less attractive destination for immigrants, tourists, and other travelers.”
Although the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport does not provide direct flights to or from the countries listed, the commissioners say the ban sends a message to the rest of the world that foreign travelers are not welcomed, which could impact tourism to the region.
“[The order] has the potential to harm travel, commerce, and trade in the Pacific Northwest and nationally while promoting discrimination and exclusion,” the commissioners said in Monday’s statement.
Just outside of the airport, Port of Seattle Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed – a native of Somalia – joined the nonprofit organization One America and some elected-officials in a press conference regarding the travel ban’s impacts on the local community at the airport on Tuesday. Guest speakers included Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, among others.
Brown disputes Trump’s claim that the ban improves national security, calling the order “racist” and that it harms people from the banned countries.
“This ban sweeps up medical patients, students, families and people fleeing persecution,” Brown said. “Those people are not national security risks; they add value to this country, and it’s obvious that this order is driven by Donald Trump’s bleak, absurd social views.”
Brown said his office is actively looking at ways to challenge the travel ban, but notes that “it will be difficult” due to “an increasingly hostile” U.S. Supreme Court.
The Washington Attorney General’s Office has filed 21 cases against the Trump administration so far this year.
Washington was the first state to file a lawsuit against Trump for his travel ban on Middle East and North African countries in 2017. Ferguson was the attorney general at that time. The governor said it is difficult to see a new travel ban eight years after the one in 2017, which was blocked by a federal judge in Washington in February 2017.
