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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Donald Trump on Friday expected to halt — at least temporarily — the resettlement of refugees and the issuing of visas for travelers from several Muslim-majority nations, apparently ushering in his campaign promises of “extreme vetting” and barring some people from entering the US based on their religion.
The order details are based on the reporting of multiple news organizations. The White House has not yet released the exact text of the orders and BuzzFeed News will update when they do so.
Trump said he is “establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America,” he said. “We don't want them here.”
A Syrian refugee in 2016
Delil Souleiman / AFP / Getty Images
The executive orders are expected to completely stop the resettlement of refugees from war-torn Syria — whose five-year civil war has brought on a catastrophic humanitarian crisis — and suspend the refugee resettlement program for 120 days so it can be reviewed.
Trump signed two orders after his pick for Secretary for Defense, Gen. Games Mattis, was sworn into office. He also signed an order to “rebuild” the military, “a plan for new planes, new ships, new resources, and new tools for our men and women in uniform.
The orders are also expected to suspend visas to countries the administration deems “of particular concern.” Those nations reportedly include Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Iran were all in the top seven country of origin for refugees admitted in the US in 2016.
The executive order is also expected to call for a significant reduction in the number of refugees, in general, that the US will accept in 2017 — from 110,000, as proposed by fromer President Obama’s administration, to 50,000. The US accepted just over 12,000 Syrian refugees in the fiscal year ending in September 2016.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates and follow BuzzFeed News on Twitter.
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