Donald Trump can absolutely ban Muslims from entering the US, without Congress

The consequences of implementing such a ban, the experts warned, could be very bad. America’s reputation in the world, its economy, and even its struggle with militant groups like ISIS would all suffer. The ban would be a slap in the face to America’s basic commitment to the equal treatment of all people, regardless of their faith or background, and to welcoming in the downtrodden. In the aftermath of Tuesday’s upset, many Muslim Americans are openly wondering whether they will be safe in Trump’s America. 

After US citizen Rizwan Farook and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik murdered 14 people in San Bernardino on December 2, 2015, Donald Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

Trump tweaked the plan, but never abandoned it. He later rephrased it as suspending “immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur,” vowing to implement it on his first day in office. This covers immigration only, not tourist or student visas, and isn’t explicitly a religious test. But everyone knows where “terror-prone regions” are, and who lives there.

Candidate Trump was never particularly specific on the policy details of how the Muslim ban would work. But with President-elect Trump set to take office in January, and his pledge to implement the ban on day one now about to be put to the test, the question looms: Will he be able to do it, and if so, how?

I put that to several experts on US immigration law. Their answer was unanimous: Trump would be able to implement his ban. In fact, he would be able to do it easily. Congress has already granted wide power to the president to alter immigration rules, so he will not need congressional approval. If the ban is designed properly, it is virtually guaranteed to survive court challenges from liberal advocacy groups determined to derail it.