President Trump signed a new executive order on Monday which prevents all refugees from entering the United States for 120 days, and a 90-day ban on any travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries.
This move comes after a similar executive order from the Trump administration, signed in late January, that was blocked by a federal court. The ban still remains in limbo after the administration vowed to take legal action to get the ban reinstated.
The countries included in the ban are Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. According to the White House, Iraq was left out due to an increase in vetting capabilities, including data sharing and increases in visa screening.
The new directive has some key differences from its predecessor, including stating that refugees already approved by the State Department can enter the US and it removes an indefinite ban on all Syrian refugees.
One of the most controversial problems with the last order was the fact that it didn’t account for green card holders attempting to enter the country, and as a result they were turned back upon arrival during the time that the ban was upheld. This directive, however allows for the entry of green card holders.
The new directive also does not give priority to religious minorities, unlike the previous directive, which gave preference to Christians.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated that, according to the FBI, over 300 people who immigrated to the US as refugees are currently under investigation for terrorism-related offenses.
While ISIS has spread across much of the Middle East, they are primarily located in Syria and Iraq. A notable public concern arose as the news broke of Iraq being left out of the ban, with many of the directive’s critics voicing skepticism of the Trump administration’s motives.
Photo Credit: Twitter/White House
Nicholas Amato
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“Attorney General Jeff Sessions stated that, according to the FBI, over 300 people who immigrated to the US as refugees are currently under investigation for terrorism-related offenses.”
He doesn’t talk about even “charges” or “convictions.” According to CNN there were, as of 2015, 1,051,031 lawful immigrants in the US and there are estimated to be 11 million illegal immigrants.
According to Pewresearch, 38,901 Muslim refugees entered the U.S. in fiscal year 2016. If 300 are “under investigation,” that seems a fairly trivial amount (and it’s not clear that all 300 “investigations” result from 2016 entrants.
This is a waste of time and resources.
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