By Faiza Chowdhury
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” reads the Statue of Liberty, a beacon of hope for immigrants arriving in the United States of America. For over a century, Lady Liberty has been a proud symbol of the American message of acceptance and tolerance. However, the recent executive order signed by President Trump to restrict the travel of Muslims from certain countries called into question the reliability of this message.
Trump’s January 27 order barred travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days, except those from Syria, whom he would ban indefinitely. He said his directive was “done for the security of our nation, the security of our citizens.”
The travel ban has been criticized for being unconstitutional, but unfortunately for America, the problem doesn’t end there. A travel ban on Muslims will cause a domino effect to be set in motion, leaving the American economy in shambles.
When the travel ban is fully implemented, there will be immediate repercussions on some sectors of the economy. The sector most obviously affected by the travel ban is America’s thriving tourism industry. Muslim tourists, especially from the Middle East, are willing to and have a significant amount to spend. Studies conducted jointly by Dinar Standard and Crescent Ratings found that Muslim tourists spend an average of $2,000 more than European travelers when on vacation and that by 2020, Muslim tourism across the globe will amount to approximately $192 billion. According to the U.S National Travel and Tourism Office, in 2013 alone, Muslim tourists contributed almost $18 billion towards the tourism industry. It seems illogical, then, to ban Muslims from visiting America, when Muslim tourism is so profitable.
It isn’t just the tourism industry that is under threat from the travel ban. There are over 100,000 international Muslim students in the United States, especially from the Middle East and Asia, who bring in billions of dollars in tuition fees every year. Without their contribution, it would be impossible to fund higher education for America’s poorer demographic. The healthcare sector would incur a loss as well: many foreign Muslims seek medical treatment in America and spend large sums of money when they visit.
The impacts on the economy due to the behavior of consumers are of equal importance, although admittedly less obvious. The implementation of an unjust travel ban on Muslims into America will likely cause a global boycotting of products manufactured in the United States. American-based firms located in countries such as Qatar and UAE will lose sales, and revenue would decrease. On a much larger scale, this translates to large populations decreasing their purchase of goods manufactured in America, and governments of Muslim-majority countries imposing stricter quotas on imports from the U.S. This would lead to a subsequent deficit in the nation’s balance of trade, seeing as American exports to the UAE and Saudi Arabia alone total over $57 billion. Major Muslim investors such as the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council could be reluctant to invest in America and decide to spend their assets elsewhere. Funds which are crucial to the development of the country’s defense sector would be lost. The aftermath of the travel ban would be retaliation from these Muslim-majority countries, who could decide to deny Americans the right to visit these nations without a visa. A great advantage of having an American passport – the ability to travel across most of the globe without a visa – would be lost.
The executive order also poses a threat to scientific development in the country. The scientific community in America is enriched by numerous Muslim researchers, who work tirelessly to make a breakthrough in their respective fields. Not only is the travel ban a major inconvenience to their personal lives, but it makes collaboration with scientists from all over the world much more difficult. Consequentially, many scientists unaffected by the ban have shown their solidarity by avoiding U.S. conferences entirely. Soon, America could inadvertently become a less attractive place for science, and possibly cease to be called a global frontrunner in the field of scientific research.
Implementing the ban itself would be virtually impossible, and would cost a lot more of taxpayer’s money. An effective ban on travelers based on religion would require thorough screening of each individual entering America, and increased recruitment and training of border patrol agents. The enormous costs would, therefore, have disastrous impacts on the American economy, and would surely outweigh any benefits. In the unfortunate event that the executive order takes effect, the United States of America should be preparing for a nationwide recession.
However, the new US President forgot to take into account that the American system has three prominent branches and for an executive order to work, he needs approval from all three. Therefore, thanks to one Judge James Robart of the Western District of Washington, a temporary restraining order was issued which has forced the federal government to stop enforcing the ban. Later a federal appeals court refused to reinstate Trump’s ban on travelers dealing another blow to his administration. In a unanimous decision, the panel of three judges from the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block the ruling that suspended the ban and allowed previously barred travelers to enter the US again. Due to these recent turn of events, the Trump administration and their supposed Muslim ban has been suspended for now. So until he tries to enforce this ridiculous issue again, Americans who are wary of the fallout from such an order can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Numbers Behinds The Ban
$30.5 billion
decrease in US GDP
182,000
jobs lost in the domestic economy in one year
1%
total percentage of Muslim
US residents
3.8%
Muslim inbound
international visitor
8.37 million
fewer visitors to the US
$13.3 billion
loss in US exports by Muslim consumers
$98 million
disposable income of Muslim Americans
$190 million
household GDP contributions by Muslim Americans
40%
American Muslims with Bachelors of higher degrees
Sources
1. The cost of banning all Muslims – Sabri Ben-Achour, “Marketplace” http://www.marketplace.org/2016/06/14/world/cost-banning-all-muslims
2. Barring Muslims Would Spell a U.S. Economic Disaster – Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, “Middle East Policy Council”
http://www.mepc.org/articles-commentary/commentary/barring-muslims-would-spell-us-economic-disaster?print
3. The Economic Impact of Banning Muslims from the U.S. – Rachel Hyde, “Investopedia”
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/011316/economic-impact-banning-muslims-us.asp
4. Trump’s immigration ban is already having a chilling effect on science, “Vox”
http://www.vox.com/2017/1/29/14429500/trumps-immigration-ban-science-research
5. Banning Muslims From the United States Is the World’s Dumbest Idea –Christian Caryl, “Foreign Policy”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/03/08/banning-muslims-from-the-united-states-is-the-worlds-dumbest-idea/
