Former President Donald Trump's latest plan to tackle immigration if he wins the 2024 election faces a huge problem.
Trump, who remains the frontrunner in the Republican presidential primary, delivered a speech in Derry, New Hampshire, on Monday night in which he announced his latest plan for immigration. He has called for tighter immigration control efforts, particularly for migrants coming from the Middle East amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which began October 7.
The former president vowed to reimpose and expand a ban on travel to several Middle Eastern countries, a controversial policy during his first term in office, on "day one" if he wins next November. He also said he would implement ideological screening of immigrants—but part of this plan would likely brush against the United States Constitution.
"I will implement strong ideological screening of all immigrants. If you hate America, if you want to abolish Israel, if you don't like our religion, which a lot of them don't. If you sympathize with jihadists, then we don't want you in our country. And you are not getting in," Trump said.
The First Amendment of the Constitution's Bill of Rights guarantees the freedom of religion in the United States, meaning there is no established religion in the United States.
Trump has said he identifies as a "non-denominational Christian." The majority of Americans—more than 70 percent—identify with some form of Christianity, according to the Pew Research Center. But another 6 percent identify with other faiths, including 1.9 of Americans who are Jewish, 0.9 percent who are Muslims, and nearly 23 percent unaffiliated with any religion.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email.
Critics took to social media to point out the problem with Trump's immigration plan.
"'Our religion?' The United States doesn't have a state religion. But MAGA, MAGA nods & applauds...," former Republican Representative Joe Walsh, a staunch Trump critic, posted to X, formerly Twitter.
"America has no religion," attorney Andrew L. Seidel wrote on X.
Journalist S.E. Cupp wrote: "We don't have a religion and [Trump] knows it. But ugly Islamophobia still plays to the cheap seats in the GOP and he's happy to exploit it."
"As disturbing as this idea is, this is also the dude that couldn't name a single Bible verse when asked and pronounced 2nd Corinthians as TWO Corinthians. Your leading Republican presidential candidate folks," posted journalist Jemele Hill.
Following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, Trump has doubled down on his calls for more restrictive immigration policies. During a speech in Iowa, Trump said the U.S. should not take in migrants from the Gaza Strip amid human rights watchers expressing concerns about civilian deaths in the region.
He has also called for American colleges and universities to ban students who have expressed support for Palestinians amid the conflict, accusing academic institutions of allowing an "open hatred against Israel" in a Truth Social post earlier this month.
"What happened in Israel was barbaric! Now American Universities are allowing or enabling the open hatred against Israel and America! Instead of educating our young Americans, Deans stand idly by while subversive groups are calling for a National Day of Resistance. Not only is this antisemitic, it is also anti-American," Trump wrote.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
