Laptops, iPads and cameras. These seemingly harmless devices are among the latest additions  to the ever growing list of possessions passengers cannot take onto a plane.

However, this restriction serves as an act of discrimination against the Muslim majority countries the ban is placed on, rather than an attempt to lessen terrorist attacks.

Passed recently under the Trump administration, the insufficient ban affects passengers traveling from 10 airports in predominantly Muslim countries, majority of which are our allies, heading to the U.S., as commuters are prohibited from stowing devices bigger than a cellphone in their carry-on bags. Devices must undergo security checks and must be placed in checked-in  luggages.

None of these countries are affiliated with any of the six countries under Trump’s controversial Executive Order temporarily suspending immigration. This inequality of merely banning electronics from our allies may lead to further strain with the countries.

If the threat of electronic bombings is as crucial as the government insists it is, why are only eight countries affected by the restriction? Why not all countries?

Previous regulations prohibited large amounts of liquids and gels from being carried onboard any international flights, which effectively lessened the instances of liquid explosive attacks. One of the main reasons why the liquid ban was sufficient lies in the fact that all international airports adhered to the regulation, not just a few countries. Checking the devices in a limited range of airports renders the electronic ban utterly impotent.

According to the Independent, this drastic measure follows terrorist attacks using explosive-filled devices, such as when a laptop spiked with explosives detonated in  the passengers’ cabin mid-flight.

The federal government should be focused on reinforcing their current policies rather than creating more ineffective ones. According to the Los Angeles Times, an internal investigation of TSA resulted in undercover agents under the Department of Homeland Security bypassing security checks, smuggling in guns and bombs in numerous trials throughout the case.

The TSA screening failed 95 percent of the time due to human and technological error, according to the investigation. If the airport security is already failing in terms of its rather lacking screening technology, pat-downs and baggage checks, enforcing an electronic ban will not be sufficient in fending off potential terrorist attacks.

This ban is immensely useless, as airline funds are wasted by hiring additional personnel to handle the increasing airport security check lines. The government needs to redirect their efforts to strengthening existing policies, instead of solely pushing the blame on eight countries as a bid to show American citizens the federal “attempt” at lessening terrorism.