REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the United States President Donald Trump's immigrant policy could increase mistrust against Muslims. "There is no direct impact on Indonesia, but Trump's decision could increase mistrust against Muslims," Kalla said here on Tuesday.
Americans have strongly protested Trump's decision, because the policy could endanger the integrity of the United States. "Americans were immigrants themselves and they maintain the values," the vice president remarked.
Through the policy, the migrant influx would shift to Asia, including Indonesia. "Indonesia has become a transit for migrants from Afghanistan who head to Australia," he pointed out.
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Trump earlier put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, saying the moves would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks. He said the most sweeping use of his presidential powers since taking office a week ago, barring travelers from seven nations for at least 90 days, would give his administration time to develop more stringent screening procedures for refugees, immigrants and visitors.
Deputy Chairman of the House' Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Committee (BKSAP) Rofi Munawar said that Trump's immigrant policy could complicate the dialogue between the Islamic world and the West. "Trump's immigrant policy has caused concern among Muslims," Munawar said in a press statement received here on Monday.
He said that Trump's policy was based on the excessive assumptions against Islam. Trump assumed that Islam was related to acts of terror. "In fact, Islam has diverse aspects that do not stand alone and has proved to have major contributions to civilization and world peace," he affirmed.
The policy indicated that the dialogue process was not a top priority in Trump's government to build diplomacy with Muslim-majority countries, he noted. In addition, the lawmaker remarked that the policy was made based on the excessive concerns against terrorism. "The policy has showed that Trump could not find the best formula to face the current crisis in the United States," he emphasized.