President Trump’s Executive Order Against Immigration and the Border Wall

President Trump takes first steps towards restricting the entry of refugees into the U.S.

President Donald Trump has already started working on an executive order that will place significant restrictions on the entry of refugees into the U.S. The executive order will also permit the denial of visas to immigrants from countries that are deemed “high-risk” by his administration.

President Trump’s Executive Order Against Immigration and the Border Wall[/tweetthis]

However, there is a chance the executive order could be changed within this week before the official signing.

According to details provided by sources, the executive order will:

  • Prevent Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. indefinitely.
  • Temporarily suspend the issuance of American visas to individuals coming from countries where security screening could prove to be inadequate.
  • Create 120-day suspension on all refugee admissions till the administration identifies the least risky countries.
  • Reduce the refugee admissions cap to 50,000 compared to Obama’s 110,000.

Sources, who had been briefed on the executive order draft, stated the countries likely to be targeted are Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, and Sudan. However, the list is yet to be finalized. The targeted nations are Muslim majorities. Trump’s campaign promises included a suspension of immigration, which has turned out to be a priority task.

When asked for a comment, the Department of Homeland Security and The White House declined. Trump had hinted about the order through one of his tweets, where he mentioned that a “big day” was planned on National Security and he would build the wall.

Sources have also stated the orders on border security would likely be passed this week, while the refugee crisis might come under the spotlight in the following week.

According to Stephen Legomsky, former Chief Counsel for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it was well within the power of the President to limit the issuance of visas and refugee admissions, if it was in the county’s best interests.

Legomsky, who now works as a professor at the Washington University School of Law, added that Trump’s order was a poor move in terms of policy, even though he holds a legal right to pass such orders.

Trump and Jeff Sessions (Trump’s nominee for the position of U.S. Attorney General) have been vocal about placing immigration restrictions on countries that are seen as a threat to the U.S. and not because they are dominated by a specific religious community. However, the new order seems to target Muslim-majority countries exclusively.

It has also been reported Trump will be directing security agencies to develop a biometric identification system that will monitor the entry and exit of non-citizens, while helping identify illegal immigrants as well.

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