OPINION | Trump’s chaos, mixed messages more dangerous than his policies  

Once again, a new court ruling is handed down on President Donald Trump’s travel ban. And once again, the nation is confused.

This week, in this six-month game of hot potato over immigration policy, the United States Supreme Court ruled that grandparents and other close relatives of United States residents should be exempt from the Trump administration’s temporary ban on travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries. It also, however, denied a separate judgement that exempted refugees with ties to a resettlement agency, keeping thousands from entering the country over the next few months.

This comes after the Supreme Court ruled in June that a scaled-back version of the travel ban could proceed, which itself was a partial reversal of an earlier district court decision. In all, there have been more than two dozen lawsuits heard by courts on both coasts this year, each with its own nuanced reading of the law.

Supreme Court denies Justice Dept request to clarify travel ban https://t.co/OB1w03ZPEN pic.twitter.com/PCYOxyRiAx

— The Hill (@thehill) July 19, 2017

Trump may be used to this kind of strong-headed negotiation in the boardroom, but when it comes to our nation’s security, the president’s approach to immigration is breeding disorder and uncertainty among the rank-and-file agents that protect our borders and cities. As lawyers haggle, our country lies exposed. Trump’s lack of clear objectives and obsession with unpredictability has confused everyone but homegrown terrorists who thrive on chaos and ignorance.

{mosads}When I was a chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, the nation’s largest law enforcement agency, we didn’t treat government agencies like reality show contestants, pitted against each other for resources and praise. Instead, we worked on a measure to force airlines and the intelligence community to share information with the department so we could streamline our intelligence to create a more efficient process. This was instrumental in the capture of the 2010 Times Square Bomber, who was attempting to flee the country on a flight to Dubai. That arrest happened because of well-crafted policy that took months of interagency coordination.

What we are seeing from the Trump administration is exactly the opposite. Trump’s proposed budget increases defense spending and border protection, but cuts other crucial government spending — a brawn over brain approach that is not only ignorant and arrogant, but outright dangerous. In addition to defunding intelligence analysis and active-shooter training, Trump’s budget eliminates state and local grant funding from DHS, costing cities millions of dollars in security and leading law enforcement officials to accuse the White House of cutting corners in fighting terrorism.

ICE chief plans to send hundreds of agents to sanctuary cities to crack down on immigration https://t.co/R1W95qN3ie pic.twitter.com/ldBDYmSrib

— The Hill (@thehill) July 18, 2017

The president’s statements on even his most simplistic policy ideas are puzzling. After campaigning for months on the promise to build a border wall, Trump significantly scaled back his pledge last week, telling reporters on Air Force One that he didn’t intend on building a continuous wall along the Mexico border because there were enough natural barriers to do the job. So far, his administration has proposed allocating a mere $1.6 billion to begin construction on a project that will cost tens of billions of dollars.

I could not disagree more with the administration’s positions on immigration, but the current state of contradicting directives has plunged our country into even more peril. The brave men and women who keep this country safe deserve more. They deserve clear objectives and a stable foundation on which to build the inter-agency cooperation we need to keep our borders and cities safe. 

An insecure government is an unsecure nation. And Trump’s personal insecurities and ego is making this great country more vulnerable than ever before.

Marco Lopez was the chief of staff of Customs and Border Protection at the Department of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2011.

The views expressed by contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.