Trump's Executive Order Bans All Syrian Refugees Indefinitely

It calls them 'detrimental to the interests of the United States'
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 27, 2017 7:13 PM CST
Critics Say Trump's Executive Order Is Clear 'Muslim Ban'
President Donald Trump signs an executive order that critics call a "Muslim ban" during an event at the Pentagon in Washington, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Details about President Trump's executive order on refugees and immigration are starting to be revealed. USA Today reports the order completely shuts down the US refugee program for 120 days while it's reviewed by the State Department. There is a 90-day ban on entry to the US from seven Muslim-majority countries, according to the Washington Post. Bloomberg notes that list excludes any countries that have business ties with Trump. And there's a 60-day ban on legal immigration from any countries said to be helping terrorists, which includes Iran, Sudan, and possibly others. Beyond that, all Syrians are banned from entering the US indefinitely. The order says Syrian refugees are "detrimental to the interests of the United States." All this despite the US already having the most strenuous refugee vetting process in the world.

In a Friday interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, Trump said priority for immigration would be given to Christians from Muslim-majority countries because they've been "horribly treated," claiming without any evidence that the State Department had been letting Muslims into the US while making it hard for Christians, CNN reports. According to the Hill, Sen. Kamala Harris says Trump's order is clearly a "Muslim ban," noting the bitter irony of him banning people from one religion from entry to the US on Holocaust Memorial Day. The US welcomed an equal number of Muslim and Christian refugees in 2016. As of Nov. 2015, 77% of Syrian refugees were women and children; only 2% were single men without families. A recent study found the chance of being killed in a terrorist attack carried out by a refugee in the US was one in 3.64 billion. (More refugees stories.)

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