Trump Readies Order Suspending Refugee Resettlement, Barring Syrians
The U.S. will suspend its refugee resettlement program under an executive order from President Donald Trump. The same order slaps an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees and calls for extreme vetting.
A draft of the order, expected to be issued imminently, suspends the U.S. resettlement program, USRAP, from all countries for 120 days. However, it specified that Syrian refugees would be barred “until such time as I have determined sufficient changes have been made.”
The U.S. admitted 86,000 refugees in the 2016 fiscal year and had been due to take 110,000 in fiscal 2017. It is expected that following the suspension, a reduced program will take as few as 50,000.
The same order appeared to leave the door open to Syrians from Christian communities by making allowances for those facing religious persecution, when that religion is a minority in the country in question.
It would also suspend any immigration for at least 30 days from a number of predominantly Muslim countries. The countries on the list are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. This recalls Trump’s campaign trail statements in which he called for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
The 30-day suspension was explained in the draft order as necessary while the government beefed up its already tough screening procedures to identify potential terrorists.
Trump Calls for Safe Zones in Syria, Russia Urges Caution
The U.S. has committed itself to providing “safe zones” inside Syria to stop refugee flows. The move appeared to take Russia by surprise, with Moscow saying it had not been consulted.
“I’ll absolutely do safe zones in Syria for the people,” Trump told ABC in an interview, without giving details.
In a draft executive order, seen by Reuters, Trump was expected to call on his secretaries of state and defense to produce a plan within 90 days “to provide safe areas in Syria and in the surrounding region in which Syrian nationals displaced from their homeland can await firm settlement, such as repatriation or potential third-country resettlement.”
Safe zones were supported by Trump and his rival Hillary Clinton but were rejected by the previous administration, which was unwilling to commit the resources to police them. Since then Russia has installed sophisticated air defense systems inside Syria and increased its military presence.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Trump’s comments, saying, “No, our American partners did not consult with us.
“It is important that this (the plan) does not exacerbate the situation with refugees, but probably all the consequences ought to be weighed up.”
Giving context to his call for safe zones, Trump said that Europe had made a “tremendous mistake” by allowing large numbers of refugees from Syria and other war zones.
Denmark to Cut Benefits to Immigrant Parents Whose Children Don’t Learn Danish
Denmark will withdraw benefits from immigrant families whose children are not learning Danish. Legislation expected in the summer will see children as young as three tested for Danish-language skills.
Those who are found wanting can have benefits withdrawn if their parents do not send them to preschool or agree to have them attend language lessons.
There is cross-party support for the law in Denmark, with politicians on the right and the left saying that children need to speak Danish to integrate successfully.
Recommended Reads:
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- The Conversation: The Greek Asylum Crisis: Moving Beyond the Blame Game to a Real Solution
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