One aspect of President Trump’s recent executive order on immigration that has been drowned out by the noise is that the action is more likely to harm American national security than to help it.

This is not some liberal media propaganda point but is, in fact, the overwhelming consensus of national security experts of both parties.

From the time that then-candidate Trump first announced his intent to ban Muslims in late 2015, national defense and homeland security practitioners have warned that such an action would be counterproductive and would strengthen the appeal of ISIS and other radical groups.

Despite administration denials, the order is aimed at Muslim majority nations and has been widely perceived around the world as an attack on Muslims. This perfectly reinforces the ISIS narrative that America is at war with Islam and will only encourage additional persons, both here and abroad, to contemplate action against the United States.

Among the officials who cautioned against the order or criticized it are former Director of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, former Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook (speaking for the Department of Defense), and Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

This week more than 100 former national security officials from both political parties drafted a letter warning that the president’s executive order will harm America’s national security.

Authors of the letter include former Cabinet secretaries, generals, and high-ranking security and diplomatic officials from Democratic and Republican administrations, including Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Director of the CIA Michael Hayden.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who was not consulted on the order, has called for exceptions to the ban for Iraqis and Afghans who have assisted U.S. military forces in the fight against terrorism. So far, the administration has not responded, electing, apparently, to betray the trust of persons who risked their lives to assist American soldiers.

Confirming the views of American security experts are former Jihadists, who have now renounced their terrorist past. Speaking to CNN, the former Jihadists said the executive order will boost terrorist recruiting as it reinforces ISIS propaganda. In addition, the order will drive a wedge between Muslims living in the west and their governments, severely hindering efforts to stop terror attacks by persons already living in the west.

Sadly, even if the order does not boost recruitment for ISIS, it will still do nothing to enhance the security of the United States. While “extreme vetting” sounds like something we ought to be doing, our vetting of refugee applicants is already extreme. Applicants for refugee entry into the United States undergo a two-year process that begins with screening by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which rejects 99 percent of the applicants. The remaining one percent then undergo interviews by US intelligence and security agencies, extensive background checks and their names, biographic information and fingerprints are run through federal terrorism and criminal databases.

Syrian refugees face additional hurdles. Their documents are placed under extra scrutiny and cross-referenced with classified and unclassified information.

Immigration to the United States for non-refugees is not much easier. Immigration visas (the first step in the multi-year process of becoming a legal resident) are generally issued to reunify families or provide workers for U.S. employers. To obtain an employment-related visa an applicant must have a job arranged in the United States. Most of the qualifying jobs require high levels of education and professional experience. For a family-reunification visa, the applicant must have a parent, spouse or other close relative already living in the United States. Obtaining a visa takes a year or more and can cost as much as $2,000. The process includes one or more interviews, a physical, and a criminal record check.

While our current system is hardly foolproof, it is not a swinging door that foreign terrorist groups can easily exploit. It is already difficult to immigrate to the United States, which is one reason terrorist groups have not succeeded in infiltrating operatives into the U.S. Terror attacks in the U.S. have been carried out by immigrants who became radicalized after their arrival. No amount of vetting, no matter how extreme, would have identified them as terrorists prior to their arrival. Even the 9-11 attacks would not have been prevented, as all the terrorists involved in that attack came from nations not included in the current ban.

So, what is the point of the executive order, if not to enhance security? A tweet by presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway provides a clue. “Promises made, promises kept,” she wrote, following the release of the order.

The administration is eager to please its political supporters, and this order is a no-cost way to fulfill a campaign promise. Of course, it’s an empty gesture that is more likely to harm American security than to help it, but the order only affects a few hundred potential immigrants and refugees, powerless non-voters whose fate is of no concern to anyone in the White House.

As an added benefit, anyone who opposes the order can be called a terrorist sympathizer, reinforcing the administration’s narrative that the president, and the president alone, can keep America safe.

To defeat terrorism, we need to be strong and stay united. Overreacting in fear, abandoning our values, scapegoating our neighbors, and sowing discord among our citizens is the goal of terrorism. We can be better than this.

January 30, 2017