Note that the discrimination ban applies only to immigrants. The 1965 law does not ban discrimination based on religion — which was Mr. Trump’s original proposal. While courts rarely interfere in immigration matters, they have affirmed the discrimination ban. While there is plenty of room for executive mischief there, the amendment made clear that Congress still wanted the discrimination ban to hold some force. If Mr. Trump can legally ban an entire region of the world, he would render Congress’s vision of unbiased legal immigration a dead letter.

Source: New York Times January 28, 2017 01:03 UTC