President Trump is expected to sign an executive order blocking Syria plus six other Muslim majority nations from getting visas until the scrutiny process is changed. However, a huge exception is being made for “persecuted religious miniories,” which includes the persecuted Christians of these nations:
Donald Trump is expected to block all refugees from Syria and six other Middle Eastern and African countries on Wednesday.
Religious minorities escaping persecution will escape the ban which will last for several months, it is thought, until more aggressive vetting is in place.
Executive orders expected to be signed on Wednesday will block visas being issued to anyone from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, said aides and immigration experts close to the White House, according to Reuters
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The Republican president, who took office last Friday, was expected to sign the first of the orders at the Department of Homeland Security, whose responsibilities include immigration and border security.
On the campaign trail, Trump initially proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, which he said would protect Americans from jihadist attacks.
Both Trump and his nominee for attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions, have since said they would focus the restrictions on countries whose migrants could pose a threat, rather than a ban on those of a specific religion.
Many Trump supporters decried former President Barack Obama’s decision to increase the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the United States over fears that those fleeing the country’s civil war would carry out attacks.
Detractors could launch legal challenges if all the countries subject to the ban are Muslim-majority nations, said immigration expert Hiroshi Motomura at UCLA School of Law.
Legal arguments could claim the executive orders discriminate against a particular religion, which would be unconstitutional, he said.
“His comments during the campaign and a number of people on his team focused very much on religion as the target,” Motomura said.
To block entry from the designated countries, Trump is likely to tell the State Department to stop issuing visas to people from those nations, according to sources familiar with the visa process. He could also instruct US Customs and Border Protection to stop any current visa holders from those countries from entering the United States. (source)
This is a sharp change from President Obama, who encouraged massive Muslim immigration from these another Islamic nations while at the same excluding persecuted Christians.