Filling in for radio host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday, lawyer and Power Line blogger John Hinderaker said that Congress has specifically given the president the authority to block immigration from majority Muslim countries as early as “today, if he wanted to.”

Discussing Donald Trump’s call to place a moratorium on all Muslim immigration, Hinderaker said the real estate mogul’s proposal was “unnecessary and would probably be ineffective,” but the idea that America can’t do anything to its immigration “to reduce the risk of importing Islamic terrorism … is frankly ridiculous.”

“One thing that could be done is that by presidential proclamation, we could simply stop accepting immigrants from Muslim majority countries,” Hinderaker continued.

Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act specifically provides for this. It says whenever the presidents decides the entry of any aliens or any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens — as immigrants or non immigrants — or may impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. 

“The president clearly has the legal power to issue an order that simply says from this time until some date in the future when the proclamation is suspended — no more immigration from Muslim majority countries.”

“That’s clearly legal. It’s something that could be done rather easily. Obama could do it today, if he wanted to.”

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