The State Department has revealed that 1,800 refugees from the nations targeted by President Trump’s suspended travel order have entered the United States since courts set it aside.
An analysis found that refugees from Syria, Iraq and Somalia were tops in numbers.
The review of State figures by the Pew Research Center also found that of all refugees entering the U.S. under Trump, a slight majority are Muslim.
Said Pew: “More than 1,800 refugees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen have resettled in the U.S. since a federal court judge suspended key parts of an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Jan. 27 that restricted travel from these seven nations, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. State Department data. Virtually all of these refugees were admitted after a federal court judge suspended the president’s executive order.”
Trump is planning to revive his travel executive order to pause refugee acceptance for 120 days. He has said his goal is the “extreme vetting” of the refugees to make sure none have terrorist ties.
Including refugees from all nations, 6,095 came in during Trump’s first month. He has ordered that refugee admissions be cut from 110,000 to 50,000. The courts haven’t challenged that.
In the first month, 45 percent of the refugees into the United States came from the seven targeted nations, said Pew.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
