Trump Signs Executive Order Targeting Syrian Refugees

Donald Trump signed two more executive orders today, one of which suspends the admission of Syrian refugees into the U.S. indefinitely, CNN reports. The order also limits the number of refugees that can be admitted from other countries by way of introducing new "extreme vetting" measures.

Among other details in the order is a 90-day ban on all immigration from specific "terror-prone" countries, though which countries are implicated has yet to be revealed. The order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions program on the whole for 120 days, during which Trump's cabinet will apparently implement new vetting procedures.

Trump's order also includes a provision that—after admission of refugees is reinstated—gives priority to asylum claims based on religious persecution, specifically in case where the individual is part of a "minority religion" in their country.

As Trump explained himself, the language is geared toward prioritizing Syria's Christian refugees over Muslim ones. "We are going to help them," Trump said about Syrian Christians. "They've been horribly treated."

The order includes some choice language, including a proclamation that "the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States." "I am establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America," Trump said in a press conference announcing the decision. "We don't want them here."