US

Hundreds Of Syrian, Iraqi Refugees Admitted To U.S. Since Trump Order Halted

REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

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In the week since a federal judge in Seattle blocked President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban, more than 1,460 refugees have been admitted to the United States, including hundreds from Syria and Iraq.

According to the State Department’s Refugee Processing Center, since last Friday’s ruling, 1,462 refugees have come to the United States. Nearly 72 percent of those new refugees admitted are from five of the seven countries for which Trump sought a temporary ban.

That is, in the past week, 340 Iraqi, 402 Syrian, 115 Iranian, 37 Sudanese and 155 Somali refugees have been admitted to the United Sates. As of Friday, no refugees from Libya or Yemen had been admitted into the country.

On February 3, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart suspended the Trump administration’s executive order on immigration. The order imposed a 90-day ban on nationals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen entering the U.S. It also put a 120-day freeze on refugee admissions to the U.S. and indefinitely suspended refugee admissions from Syria. The administration said national security concerns justified the immigration pause.

Trump’s executive order has been under rhetorical and legal fire since the president issued it on January 27 — with critics decrying it as a “Muslim ban.” On Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to overturn Judge Robart’s temporary hold on the order.

According to The Hill, Trump indicated Friday that he is looking at “filing a brand new order.”

Caroline May