Trump Signs Order Limiting Immigration From Muslim Countries

Syrian Christians Will Be Given Priority as Future Refugees

After several days of reports about the content of the executive order, President Trump today signed the document, imposing a four-month ban on all refugees from Syria, as well as a 90 day ban on all visitors from seven different Muslim-majority countries.

Trump insisted he only wants to allow people into the US who “love deeply our people,” and promised extreme vetting for citizens of other Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, who are absent from the full-scale ban on visitors.

Trump told reporters it is too easy to get into the country, and that “it’s gonna be very, very hard” for people from certain countries to enter the United States. “Our country has enough problems without allowing people to come in, who in many cases or in some cases, are looking to do tremendous discussion,” he added, insisting this did not amount to the “Muslim ban” he’d proposed during the election campaign.

Exact details of the executive order still are not a matter of public record, but the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said it had caused “chaos” for Arab-Americans who had family members who were already en route to the country for a visit.

While Trump’s ban on Syrian refugees is temporary, the executive order reportedly significantly limits the number of refugees who will be allowed in the future. Trump says that Syrian Christian refugees will be given priority in admissions, which experts warned would be unconstitutional.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.