
President Trump’s executive order banning refugees sparked chaos and confusion that rippled through law enforcement agencies, airports and foreign nations trying to grasp the concept of the new policy.
The executive order bans all citizens from seven majority Muslim countries for the next 90 days. The citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen cannot enter the U.S. The order includes permanent residents of these countries and those who hold U.S. visas. Visa and green card holders already in the U.S. will be allowed to stay.
The executive order suspends the U.S. refugee program for four months, all refugees from anywhere in the world. During this time, the secretary of state will review the application and screening process for refugees to be admitted into the U.S. Christians will be given priority over Muslims in the refugee application process.
On Friday, Trump said that his actions would “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America.” Trump went on to say “We don’t want them here,” as he signed the executive order. Trump promised “strict vetting” of immigrants and refugees to prevent terror attacks during his presidential campaign.
A federal judge in Brooklyn, New York issued an emergency stay Saturday night that temporarily blocks the U.S. government from sending people out of the country after they have landed at U.S. airports with valid visas.
The ruling protects those who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa and permanent residents from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
The ruling by Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court came in after Trump issued the executive order. Judges in Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington State also signed orders halting parts of the executive order that brought chaos, confusion and protests to airports nationwide.
In a letter to the Virginia Tech University community, President Tim Sands said a new executive order on immigration in the U.S. may directly impact more than 100 students. Virginia Tech students are being advised by school officials not to travel abroad at this time.
“I don’t think Trump thought about about how the ban would effect various stakeholders in and outside of America. The concept of how he chose the seven countries to ban is interesting,” Tiara Sargeant, a junior strategic communications major from Cleveland said. Sargeant went on to say, “The Muslim majority country that he has businesses are not a part of the ban. Did he really do this for the U.S.?”
According to Fox News, twelve refugees were detained at JFK Airport within hours of Trump’s order restricting immigration from seven majority Muslim nations. Two of the refugees were released later Saturday.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe held a press conference Saturday evening in response to President Trump’s executive order saying that we “cannot tolerate this type of activity.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May has also criticized President Trump’s ban. Her official spokesperson said Sunday that May does “not agree” with the order and will challenge the U.S. government if it has an adverse effect on British nationals.