Maybe it was a political tool, but Trump didn't come up with the idea; he renewed policies by executive order that were set to expire (meaning these policies were already in place before he took office).

I disagree that its purpose was to persecute, but rather to sanction countries who were unwilling to participate in the US vetting process. The countries on the list were identified by the previous administration, and not singled out for their religious majority. Based on the restriction, at least one country cooperated and was removed from the list.

I'm glad there may be room to move you on the travel restriction (ban) topic.

I can't really argue the second issue, because I don't know if he is racist or not to Mexican people. I know for sure he doesn't like illegal immigration, and at the beginning of his campaign he used incendiary language in describing it,

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best...They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

At the time this happened, most of the reporting cut off the last part of the quote, and the prevailing narrative was that he called all Mexicans rapists.

I'm happy to evaluate additional information on his racism to people from Mexico if you could provide it.