TL:DR; the Executive Order invokes legislation that already exists in various forms. It's not the media manufactured "Muslim Ban" but a temporary suspension and moratorium on United States travel from Countries ear-marked ostensibly, but not exclusively, by the previous Obama Administration, its Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security (and Intelligence Services).
[long post warning]
Although the
EXECUTIVE ORDER: PROTECTING THE NATION FROM FOREIGN TERRORIST ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES is fairly long(ish), its meat and potatoes boil down to the following;
Sect (c) "... pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA [Immigration and Nationality Act], 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), I hereby proclaim that the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to in section 217(a)(12) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12), would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry ... "
The statement makes clear reference to
"U.S.Code Title 8, § 1182 - Inadmissible aliens", an act last amended Mar. 7 2013 via the "
Violence against Women Re-authorisation Act". And "
U.S. Code, Title 8, § 1187 - Visa waiver program for certain visitors", last amended in 2015 via the "
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016" - whilst the actual amendments made on these occasions cover other aspects of the Bills, the opportunities to amend, rescind and/or append components critical to immigration or non-immigration control were not taken[1].
In other words,
the groundwork for the current Executive Order was
laid by previous Administrations, the Obama Administration being the last[2], during which time the respective Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary of State, as part of their general duties and obligation to the "
Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015" and other legislation to ensure the security of the United States and her borders, authored/updated/amended a "
designated countries" list that included
Libya,
Somalia,
Yemen,
Syria,
Iraq,
Iran and
Sudan, a list that may or may not also be supplemental/supplemented by information used to establish the
Foreign Terrorist Organisations list, defining specific terrorist organisations of concern, and/or the U.S. Department of States "
Country Policies and Embargoes" list, detailing Nations with which the United States has varying permissive or restrictive trade agreements.
To reiterate,
the basis of the current travel "ban" is previous Administrations legislate policy. A matter of fact, and of the public record available to anyone for reference;
the new Executive Order simply references and invokes past precedent.
But none of these data-points (facts?) seem to matter, and rather than double-check, partisan press and opposition have taken the opportunity to double-down on a narrative of fear[3] that the Executive Order is a "Muslim Ban". As a result
everyone else is following suit, including prominent
game industry trade and lobbying bodies, organisations developers, individuals to studios alike, trust to have their best interests in mind, whom now seem to be more interested in virtue signalling solidarity with, and politicking of, the noisy baying and vociferous mob that's taking a stand based upon fabricated outrage; obfuscations at best, mendacious lies at worst. And for column inches?. At what point are 'news' networks no longer serving the interests of their viewers, helping them make properly informed decisions, the outcomes from which do have tangible and potentially lasting effect, and instead fomenting ill-informed reactionary discontent.
With respect to the games industry groups, instead of falling in lock-step with the outrage, they should be making non-political statements, reaching out to those caught out by the Executive Order, assisting and advising, working publicly to reassure members and the broader industry base that they are beavering away on a solution, perhaps something as simple as a checklist individuals can use to see if they
actually need to be concerned. Contact numbers, encouraging individuals in particular to get in touch with their local Consulate or Embassy for advice and so on - foreign work/employment and the
H-1B Visa program are a complicated issue as it is without fear mongering and ginning people into senseless panic. There's a reason shouting fire in a crowded theatre has never been a good idea... unless panic can be monestised.
Footnotes:
[1] caveat: legislative 'riders' or 'bill stuffing' make it difficult to track down legislative hierarchy's (what came first and where) because updates or amendments to Bills can be written into other completely unrelated Bills, a tactic often used to coerce compliance - by placing immigration amendments in an equal rights for women act for example, politicians would be reluctant to object to a section for fear of being called anti-woman - the objection is seen as anti-bill not anti-section.
[2] other Presidents on immigration "SOTU Bill Clinton talking about immigration in the 1995", "George W. Bush Comprehensive Immigration Reform 2007".
[3] where were the protests, the outrage when the "countries of concern" list was drawn up during the Obama Administration, although not exclusive to that Administration. Or the objections to the 100 mile 'border restriction zone' and 'internal check-points'.