Donald Trump signed an executive order, prohibiting people coming from seven Muslim-majority countries to cross into the United States. The travel ban has made headlines, to say the least, and has inspired protests all around the country. Outrage has emerged from the left, and even some right-wing politicians have spoken out against Trump’s EO.

What has been reported about the ban has been extremely scattered. News sources have been quick to mark the EO as a “Muslim Ban” which caught steam and is now being used by people who hate the ban. Protesters rallied at airports and in big cities around the country, making their point of view audible.

In the mud of this storm, facts were never reported correctly. Twitter screamed “MUSLIM BAN” as soon as the order was signed. Outrage stemmed from this headline and many people automatically assumed that Trump’s campaign plea to “ban all Muslims” had come to fruition. The mob mentality caused a snowball effect of misinformed constituents. Celebrities spoke out; left-wing politicians capitalized; the American Civil Liberties Union raised $24 million (and counting) in donations. The United States citizens were extremely polarized just ten days into Trump’s first term.

What really happened was President Trump installed an extreme vetting system for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen trying to enter the United States. The order caused hundreds of people to be detained for questioning at airports, but all of them were released within 24 hours.

The name “Muslim Ban” is the opposite of a euphemism. The ban doesn’t outlaw Muslims from entering the country. There are plenty of other Muslim-majority countries who are not on the list, and the list itself spawns from President Obama’s limitations on the visa-waiver program. The visa-waiver program was installed to allow middle eastern countries to forgo the long visa program to enter the United States for a short stay.

What those seven countries have in common is that none of them have a functioning central government, and it makes the process of determining upstanding versus lawbreaking citizens impossible. Trump’s ban is meant to be a way to buy time to try to install a system to better distinguish between the two and ensure safety for American citizens first.

Since his campaign’s conception, Trump has been adamant about making American citizens’ safety a priority. He has taken very firm stands on how to confront domestic terrorism and crime, but he has taken his extreme standpoints and made a more realistic plan than to “ban all Muslims.”

Everyone that voted for Trump expected —and even wanted— this to happen. In a Huffington Post poll, 95% of Trump voters support the travel ban. Even more interesting is that the majority of the country also supports the ban.

The audible minority over social media has skewed the story to be a Devil Order that summons demons from the pits of Hell to absorb any Muslim and rip them straight to eternal torture. Trump’s travel ban was signed for only 120 days, and it does not affect American citizens.

The flaw in the ban was how it was rolled out. The confusion among law enforcement had people questioned who did not need to be questioned. It prohibited people with green cards to not enter the country. That is where the details need to be fleshed out to keep legal and safe visitors out of danger.

To a majority of Americans, safety for its citizens is more important than the safety of refugees. The United States has had the mindset of being the world’s social worker and police, but during the time when James Monroe was president, he put America first with the “Monroe Doctrine.” Monroe insisted on staying out of European affairs to emphasize keeping America safe and prosperous. During times with major turmoil like today, it is not crazy to have a similar mindset—and Donald Trump’s travel ban follows that thought process.

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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and contributors on this student-run news site do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Lambert High School or Forsyth County Schools.