Moorestown Patch Letter To The Editor: Don't Discriminate Against Grandma

To the Editor:

Throughout the world, grandparents are considered to be one of the cornerstones of the family. Not so with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court to forbid entry of Muslim grandparents separated from their families, who are fortunate enough to have already immigrated to the United States.

Since January of this year, there has been a hard-fought ping pong-like set of legal maneuvers. The Trump White House issued a total immigration ban against residents of six Muslim nations. Judge Derrick K. Watson of Federal District Court in Honolulu ruled that the ban is discriminatory and issued a hold against the ban’s implementation. The U.S. Attorney General applied to the U. S. Supreme Court for a hearing. In June the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could enforce its immigration ban against certain categories of family members, while it would hear the case in their upcoming fall session.

However, there is a problem in defining family members allowed to immigrate. The Supreme Court ruled that certain people should be allowed to come to the United States, as long as they have “a credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.” The Trump administration permits parents, parents-in-law, children, sons- and daughters-in-law, and siblings of those already in the United States. The Trump administration would not include grandparents, grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, and brothers- and sisters-in-law.

Judge Watson of Hawaii challenged the Trump administration’s interpretation of what constitutes a close family relationship. The Judge stated, “Common sense, for instance, dictates that close family members be defined to include grandparents. Indeed grandparents are the epitome of close family members. The government’s definition excludes them. That simply cannot be.”

Attorney General Sessions is asking for a new Supreme Court ruling. He states in part, “The Supreme Court has had to correct this lower court once, and we will now reluctantly return to the Supreme Court to again vindicate the rule of law and the executive branch’s duty to protect the nation”

Protect the nation against grandma? Really? While not related to the current issue, some of the words of Vera Lynn’s rendition of the iconic World War II love song “We’ll Meet Again” might apply:
We'll meet again
Don't know where
Don't know when
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

Edwin F. Begg
Moorestown resident

Attached image is a Patch file photo