On August 4, President Obama signed a proclamation pursuant to his authority under US immigration law (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 3 U.S.C. 301), directing the State Department to identify individuals who should be barred from entry into the United States because of their ordering or participating in various kinds of categorical oppressive acts. The operative text describing who should be barred from entry is as follows:
"(a) Any alien who planned, ordered, assisted, aided and abetted, committed or otherwise participated in, including through command responsibility, widespread or systematic violence against any civilian population based in whole or in part on race; color; descent; sex; disability; membership in an indigenous group; language; religion; political opinion; national origin; ethnicity; membership in a particular social group; birth; or sexual orientation or gender identity, or who attempted or conspired to do so.
"(b) Any alien who planned, ordered, assisted, aided and abetted, committed or otherwise participated in, including through command responsibility, war crimes, crimes against humanity or other serious violations of human rights, or who attempted or conspired to do so."
Significantly, the categories include "sexual orientation or gender identity." The proclamation gives discretion to the Secretary of State, however, to make an exception to this exclusion where the Secretary determines that it is in the interest of the U.S. to admit the individual in question, notwithstanding their actions, and also makes it clear that the basis of exclusion is conduct, not opinions expressed through protected political speech. So it might not exclude some of the nastiest individuals (from the point of view of public expressions of homophobia) so long as they have not advocated oppressive action. For example, certain religious leaders who spew anti-gay or anti-trans venom would not necessarily be excludable, since few if any of such individuals advocate violence against gay people, even if it is demonstrable that their statements may lead to such.
The Proclamation is undoubtedly well-intentioned, but the true measure of its worth will depend upon the vigor of its implementation. Will the State Department set promptly to work compiling a list of aliens who should be put on the excluded list? By its terms, it was immediately effective upon signing.