What has the order done?
- Suspended the entire US refugee admissions system for 120 days, even though it was already one of the most rigorous vetting regimens in the world, taking 18 to 24 months and requiring interviews and background checks through multiple federal agencies. Trump has said he wants more strictures – but has not described them.
- Suspended the Syrian refugee program indefinitely. The US accepted 12,486 Syrian refugees in 2016, compared with about 300,000 received by Germany the same year. Since the Syrian civil war began, Turkey has received about 2.7 million refugees, Lebanon 1 million refugees and Jordan 650,000, according to UN estimates.
- Banned entry from seven majority-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – for 90 days following the signing of the order on Friday 27 January . After perhaps the vaguest of Trump’s orders, there was much confusion in the first 36 hours over whether legal US residents would be allowed to enter the US. They were initially denied entry, but on Sunday night, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that some “legal permanent residents” who pose no “serious threat” to the US would be allowed in on a case-by-case basis. It is unclear whether this would extend to those in possession of work or student visas. The order would let the Department of Homeland Security ban more countries at any time.
- Temporarily banned entry of dual-nationals who are from those seven countries but have an additional passport for 90 days following the signing f the order.. Originally, this meant that citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who have a passport from another country were subject to the ban, prompting conflicting advice from France, the UK and Canada to their citizens. On Tuesday, Customs & Border Patrol issued a directive, clarifying that travelers will be “treated according to the travel document they present.” So dual citizens can present the passport of the country that is not subject to the ban upon entry in the US.
- Prioritized refugee claims on the basis of religious persecution, so long as the applicant belongs to a religion that is a minority in their country of origin. This provision would allow the White House to prioritize Christians from the Middle East over Muslims. In fiscal year 2016, the US accepted 37,521 Christian and 38,901 Muslim refugees. Since 2001, the US has accepted nearly 400,000 Christian refugees and 279,000 Muslim refugees.
- Lowered the total number of refugees to be accepted from any country in 2017 to 50,000, down from 110,000. It has also ordered a review of states’ rights to accept or deny refugees; last year, Mike Pence, then governor of Indiana, was slapped down by an appeals court when he tried to stop the resettlement of Syrian refugees in his state.
What are the immediate consequences?
- Confusion and despair at ports and airports as approved refugees, valid visa holders, non-US dual citizens and US legal residents were detained, barred from planes or ordered out of the US. Immigration lawyers and employers have warned many people not to leave the US for fear they could be barred from re-entering. Nearly 500,000 people from the seven nations have received green cards in the past decade, meaning hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of being barred from the US or separated from their families.
- A federal judge in New York ordered a stay on the deportations for people with valid visas (estimated to be 100-200 people), dealing an early blow to Trump. Rulings in Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington differed slightly from the New York court order. In Boston, a judge ordered agents to release detained people and to halt deportations, though only at Logan International. In Alexandria, a judge ruled in favor only of lawful permanent residents. In Seattle, a judge’s ruling was limited to two individuals. Attorneys were advising people with green cards to try to redirect their flights into Boston.
- Universities, hospitals and tech companies reeled from the order, which threatens or has already banned thousands of doctors, students, researchers, engineers and others. Nearly 200 Google employees, for instance, are affected, prompting the company to recall them to the US in coordination with lawyers. The orders will almost certainly affect how companies hire employees and commit to trade deals.
- Refugees persecuted for their sexual orientation or suffering from medical crises are in limbo with the other people denied entry, because the order makes no exception besides for minority religion applicants.
- So far, the vagueness of the orders appears to leave great authority in the hands of local law enforcement at ports and borders, creating chaos and arbitrary detentions and questionings.
How have Americans reacted?
- There are several lawsuits under way in federal courts in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington state, all challenging aspects of Trump’s executive order. Lawyers for the the ACLU, Cair, the National Immigration Law Center, Legal Aid Justice Center and detained travelers are all parties to current suits (more details on courts here).
- Thousands of Americans protested at airports and outside a Brooklyn courthouse in the 48 hours following the executive order, demonstrating in solidarity with migrants and their families. The protests were peaceful. New York taxi drivers also staged a work stoppage at Kennedy airport to protest against the orders.
- Democrats and civil rights attorneys have excoriated the order, with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer saying it contradicts the ideals enshrined in American culture and on the Statue of Liberty. Meanwhile, US diplomats have reportedly signed memos of dissent, while a bipartisan letter from foreign policy and national security officials urged the White House to withdraw the order.
- Refugee advocates have noted that the order bars men and women who risked their lives to assist the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of whom were promised resettlement assistance and threatened with death at home.
- Princeton University and other schools have warned students not to leave the country, while leading US companies including Alphabet, Amazon, Ford, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft came out against the policy.
Have any Republicans broken with Trump?
- Vice-President Mike Pence has stood by Trump even though, when he was governor of Indiana, he rejected the proposal: “Calls to ban Muslims from entering the US are offensive and unconstitutional,” he said in 2015.
- House speaker Paul Ryan has praised the new order, even though he said last July that he would “reject” a religious test for entering the country. “Our No 1 responsibility is to protect the homeland,” Ryan said on Friday. “We are a compassionate nation, and I support the refugee resettlement program, but it’s time to re-evaluate and strengthen the visa-vetting process.”
- Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have criticised the order, describing it as a “hasty process that risks harmful results”. McCain told CBS the order “in some areas will give Isis some more propaganda”.
- Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said in 2015 that his chamber of Congress would not support a Muslim ban. He has so far not rejected Trump’s order.
- Former vice-president Dick Cheney spoke out against the ban in 2015, although he supported Trump. “I think this whole notion that somehow we can just say no more Muslims, just ban a whole religion, goes against everything we stand for and believe in,” he said in a radio interview.
- Congressman Justin Amash has called the order “overreach” and Senator Ben Sasse has criticized the ban.
What are the legal challenges to the ban?
- Opponents of the order have indicated they will challenge it on at least two fronts: that it sets an unconstitutional religious test, in violation of the first amendment’s freedom of religion; and that it violates the fifth amendment’s right to due process.
- But the supreme court has historically deferred to Congress and the White House on immigration enforcement, granting wide powers to the president over the nation’s borders.
- More on the legal cases here.