(CNN)President Donald Trump’s road to the White House was paved in part with hardline guarantees like constructing a “great, great wall” along the US-Mexico boundary and outright prohibiting immigration from any countries “compromised by terrorism.”
Following a week in office, Trump has sought to make these dramatic measures the columns of his national security policy, scrawling his signature on executive orders geared toward reshaping immigration throughout the United States.
Here’s the thing you should find out regarding the most recent activities that are contentious.
What immigration limitations are under consideration?
An executive order signed by Trump on Friday prohibits all individuals from specific terrorism-prone states from going into the United States for 90 days. A White House official said they’re Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, although the text of the order does not identify the states.
Exactly the same order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until it’s reinstated for nationals of states that Trump’s Cabinet considers can be correctly checked.
The absolute amount of refugees admitted to the United States is going to be limited at 50,000, down more than half from the present amount of 110,000.! during the 2017 fiscal year
During his campaign, Trump vowed to prohibit Muslim immigrants from nations with a “proven history” of terrorism contrary to the United States or its friends.
Friday’s executive order provides the Department of Homeland Security leeway to prioritize refugee claims “on the basis of religious based persecution” as long as the individual trying to get refugee status is “a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality.”
That will allow it to be more easy for Christians as well as other religious minorities in majority-Muslim nations than it would for Muslims generally to enter the United States.
Trump’s order also cancels the Visa Interview Waiver Program, which once enabled repeat travelers to the United States in order to forgo an in person interview to renew their visa. Underneath the brand new order, these travelers must finally have an in person interview.
What is the reaction to his strategy?
Abed A. Ayoub, legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said Trump’s activities were “tantamount to a Muslim ban.”
“In our view, these actions taken by Trump and this administration have nothing to do with national security,” he said. “They’re based off Islamophobia, they’re based off of xenophobia, and we cannot allow that to continue.”
A staff lawyer together with the National Immigration Law Center, Justin Cox, concurred.
“This is a Muslim ban,” Cox said. “It doesn’t say that in those words, but those seven countries are Muslim-majority.”
The National Iranian American Council, for example, pointed out that all seven countries have Muslim-majority people.
“We agree with the goal of making America safe from terror, but a blanket ban based on national origin does nothing to achieve that objective,” the council’s statement said.
Exactly how a lot of people come from nations Trump is targeting to the United States?
From your seven nations that may be influenced by limitations, 43% of refugees admitted to the United States came in the past fiscal year, in accordance with information in the Refugee Processing Center.
The Obama administration had pressed to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States as part of humanitarian attempts in 2016.
During financial 2016, which started October 2015 and finished September 2016, the United Statesaccepted the subsequent variety of refugees from the seven nations: 9,880 from Iraq; 3,750 from Iran; 1 from Libya; 9,020 from Somalia; 12,587 from Syria; 1,458 from Sudan and 26 from Yemen.
Are other varieties of visas available?
Besides refugees, there are additional forms of visas issued by the United States. Here will be the variety of total US non-immigrant and immigrant visas issued to the impacted states in 2015: 15,509 to Iraq; 42,542 to Iran; 3,575 to Libya; 1,409 to Somalia; 11,962 to Syria; 2,153 to Sudan and 7,668 to Yemen.
What’s going to be some effects of the activities?
Melanie Nezer, vice president for advocacy and policy at HIAS, a nonprofit that was Jewish, said Trump’s activities might be devastating for refugees. “People will literally, if this goes through, not be allowed to get on planes, or arrive in the US and be told they have to go back,” she said.
She said she wonders whether refugees that have recently been approved for traveling to the United States are going to have their documents revoked.
“So maybe they’ve given up their housing,” Nezer said. “Maybe they’re waiting at the airport and everything has been sold.”
Said Cox, “It could have real effects for people who’ve been issued visas and therefore are making their approach to the United States right now. They may possibly be refused entrance at airports or at the boundary.”
Can there be precedent because of this?
President George W. Bush frozen refugee entries for three months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks while specific safeguard were set in place.
Nevertheless, prohibiting individuals from particular states is new.
“I’m not aware of any prior such edict from the president saying that people from a particular country aren’t permitted to be admitted as refugees,” Cox said.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/trump-immigration-refugees-visa-policy/index.html
