British Gov’t Responds to Petition to Ban Trump: ‘Coming to the UK Is a Privilege…’

The British government has finally responded to a petition demanding that Donald Trump be banned from the country. Yes, the British government has the authority to ban certain individuals from the country if the people in question could be considered a public danger or a harm to society.

The government petition website requires 10,000 signatures to get a government response and 100,000 signatures to be debated in Parliament. As of today, it has over 500,000 signatures.

The petition was drafted in reaction to Trump’s call for a Muslim entry ban in the U.S., which plenty of British leaders––including Prime Minister David Cameron––strongly condemned.

Well, today, the government responded, providing the viewpoint of Home Secretary Theresa May. Here’s the response in full:

For good reasons the Government does not routinely comment on individual immigration and exclusion decisions.

The Home Secretary may exclude a non-European Economic Area national from the UK if she considers their presence in the UK to be non-conducive to the public good.

The Home Secretary has said that coming to the UK is a privilege and not a right and she will continue to use the powers available to prevent from entering the UK those who seek to harm our society and who do not share our basic values.

Exclusion powers are very serious and are not used lightly. The Home Secretary will use these powers when justified and based on all available evidence.

The Prime Minister has made clear that he completely disagrees with Donald Trump’s remarks. The Home Secretary has said that Donald Trump’s remarks in relation to Muslims are divisive, unhelpful and wrong.

The Government recognises the strength of feeling against the remarks and will continue to speak out against comments which have the potential to divide our communities, regardless of who makes them. We reject any attempts to create division and marginalisation amongst those we endeavour to protect.

And, as mentioned above, this will soon be debated in Parliament. Break out the popcorn for that one…

[h/t The Guardian]
[image via screengrab]

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