Trump expected to sign executive orders on immigration

[webfact]

Trump expected to sign executive orders on immigration

By Julia Edwards Ainsley

REUTERS

 

U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a meeting with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to sign several executive orders on Wednesday restricting immigration from Syria and six other Middle Eastern or African countries, according to several congressional aides and immigration experts briefed on the matter.

 

In addition to Syria, Trump's orders are expected to temporarily restrict access to the United States for most refugees. Another order will block visas from being issued to those from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, said the aides and experts, who asked not to be identified.

 

The restrictions on refugees are likely to include a multi-month ban on admissions from all countries until the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security can make the vetting process more rigorous.

 

Stephen Legomsky, a former chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Obama administration, said the president has the authority to limit refugee admissions and the issuance of visas to specific countries if it is determined to be in the public’s interest.

 

“From a legal standpoint, it would be exactly within his legal rights,” said Legomsky, who now is a professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. “But from a policy standpoint it would be terrible idea because there is such an urgent humanitarian need right now for refugees.”

 

The Republican president was expected to sign the orders at the headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security, whose responsibilities include immigration and border security.

 

On the campaign trail, Trump initially proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, which he said would protect Americans from jihadist attacks. Many Trump supporters decried former President Barack Obama's decision to increase the number of Syrian refugees admitted to the United States over fears that those fleeing the country's civil war would carry out attacks.

 

Both Trump and his nominee for attorney general, U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, have since said they would focus the restrictions on countries whose emigres could pose a threat rather than placing a ban on people who follow a specific religion.

 

Detractors could launch legal challenges to the moves if all the countries subject to the ban are Muslim-majority nations, said immigration expert Hiroshi Motomura at UCLA School of Law. Legal arguments could claim the executive orders discriminate against a particular religion, which would be unconstitutional, he said.

 

"His comments during the campaign and a number of people on his team focused very much on religion as the target," Motomura said.

 

To block entry from the designated countries, Trump is likely to instruct the State Department to stop issuing visas to people from those nations, according to sources familiar with the visa process. He could also instruct Customs and Border Protection to stop any current visa holders from those countries from entering the United States.

 

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Tuesday that the State and Homeland Security departments would work on the vetting process once Trump's nominee to head the State Department, Rex Tillerson, is installed.

 

Other measures may include directing all agencies to finish work on a biometric identification system for non-citizens entering and exiting the United States and a crackdown on immigrants fraudulently receiving government benefits, according to the congressional aides and immigration experts.

 

To restrict illegal immigration, Trump has promised to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and to deport illegal migrants living inside the United States. None of the orders to be signed Wednesday are expected to focus on those issues.

 

Trump is also expected to swear in his new secretary of homeland security, retired Marine General John Kelly, on Wednesday.

 

(Reporting by Julia Edwards Ainsley, additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg; editing by Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-01-25

[pitrevie]

I look forward to the deluge of complaints we are going to get from the GOP lawmakers who got so concerned about the constitution whenever the last president signed an executive order. I am sure those concerned posters here will also be making their objections known as frequently as they did under the last president.

[LannaGuy]

well he always picks American wives right?

[boomerangutang]

If foreigners already have visas, they should be allowed to visit the US.  If they overstay, then US Imm officials have rote ways to deal with that.  But revoking visas already issued is out of line.  Will officials do what US officials do at the US Embassy in Bangkok (?) where, even if visa is denied, fees are kept.

[Jonmarleesco]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

'Legal arguments could claim the executive orders discriminate against a particular religion, which would be unconstitutional ...'

Uh, huh. And as we all know, there isn't any particular religion associated with the vast majority of terrorist attacks of recent years ...

[kamahele]

Dumb. Those entering the US under refugee status are the the most vetted immigrants allowed access to the US. The average wait to enter the US under refugee status is 18 months.  All for show.

[kamahele]

1 minute ago, Jonmarleesco said:

Uh, huh. And as we all know, there isn't any particular religion associated with the vast majority of terrorist attacks of recent years ...

It is unconstitutional and thus illegal to use religion as a factor. 

[IAMHERE]

2 hours ago, LannaGuy said:

well he always picks American wives right?

I'll bet his wife's papers are in order, not 'undocumented' alien, she went through the lawful process. Control immigration like many if not most countries do.

[Scott]

I believe that they can refuse entry based on geo-political considerations, so people from those countries can be denied entry.   Discriminating in allowing in people solely on the basis of their religion could be a problem.   People have to remember that the constitutional rights don't really take affect until someone sets foot in the US.   So an embassy official denying someone is on reasonably safe ground.  

[mtls2005]

He's due to sign more executive orders in 100 days than Obama did in eight years. And boy did the Republicans scream about Obama's executive overreach.

 

 

[pitrevie]

1 minute ago, mtls2005 said:

He's due to sign more executive orders in 100 days than Obama did in eight years. And boy did the Republicans scream about Obama's executive overreach.

 

 

We will not hear a peep from those on this forum for whom this was so important and certainly not from the GOP.

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, kamahele said:

It is unconstitutional and thus illegal to use religion as a factor. 

Yes, all Muslims are certainly not terrorists................................BUT all terrorists do seem to be Muslims!

 

Sure he is going to focus on Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, and plenty more or similar from those regions. It would be a bit  of a foolish waste of resources  targeting Scandinavians!

 

He/the government of the USA will focus on those from hot spot/flashpoint countries. At this period in time, they will be predominantly Muslim countries because that's where all the problems are. They are targeting the problem, not the religion per se.

 

They might want to look at people flying in from the likes of Germany these days as well with the amount they have let in, especially those gaining residency in recent years that are originally from problem countries. after boasts from ISIS that they were sending in their jihadists mixed in with genuine refugees.

 

It is well known about  terrorist sleeper cells lying dormant for three, four or five years in their adopted countries.After Germany, France, Belgium, the UK and of course 9/11 Western countries have every right to safeguard their borders and be stringent with their checks.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2017 by Scouse123
spell error

[blazes]

3 hours ago, pitrevie said:

I look forward to the deluge of complaints we are going to get from the GOP lawmakers who got so concerned about the constitution whenever the last president signed an executive order. I am sure those concerned posters here will also be making their objections known as frequently as they did under the last president.

Obama's executive orders were the panicked last squawks of a lame duck.

[Credo]

He seems to have left out Saudi Arabia, the place where the 9/11 terrorists came from.   

 

Also conspicuously absent is the UAE.   

[Luckysilk]

How refreshing, someone in Washington making a promise and actually doing it.

 

Well done President Trump.

 

I see the wall also begins tomorrow :)

 

 

[localczar]

Keep your foot on the gas pedal.....Keep up the good work Donald J...!

[smotherb]

4 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

If foreigners already have visas, they should be allowed to visit the US.  If they overstay, then US Imm officials have rote ways to deal with that.  But revoking visas already issued is out of line.  Will officials do what US officials do at the US Embassy in Bangkok (?) where, even if visa is denied, fees are kept.

The fees are for processing the applications. There is no guarantee the application will be approved.

[mike324]

The only policy so far that makes sense.

[ilostmypassword]

38 minutes ago, Credo said:

He seems to have left out Saudi Arabia, the place where the 9/11 terrorists came from.   

 

Also conspicuously absent is the UAE.   

And these are the nations where support for Islamic fundamentalists overwhelmingly comes from. Ideologically speaking, there's very little difference between the kind of Islam espoused by official Saudi Arabian imams and that espoused by Al Qaeda and Isis.

But as we've seen with Trump's cabinet appointments, it's all about the money. Maybe not such a coincidence that he gets a lot of financing from these countries?

[simple1]

After extensive vetting of asylum seekers in camps in the M.E., Australia has recently admitted thousands of Christian refugees from Syria and Iraq, plus relatively few Muslims.

 

Is there any clarity from the Trump Administration that they intend to also block Christian asylum seekers from the named countries or only those with a Muslim heritage whilst they finalise policy & procedural processes?

Edited January 25, 2017 by simple1

[ilostmypassword]

10 minutes ago, simple1 said:

After extensive vetting of asylum seekers in camps in the M.E., Australia has recently admitted thousands of Christian refugees from Syria and Iraq, plus relatively few Muslims.

 

Is there any clarity from the Trump Administration that they intend to also block Christian asylum seekers from the named countries or only those with a Muslim heritage whilst they finalise policy & procedural processes?

To set up different standards based on religion would violate the law.  So, as much as Trump and friends might like to do so, their hands are tied.

[pitrevie]

2 hours ago, blazes said:

Obama's executive orders were the panicked last squawks of a lame duck.

 

Nice to see a good constitutional reason given. For 8 years? 

[Chicog]

Quote

The restrictions on refugees are likely to include a multi-month ban on admissions from all countries until the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security can make the vetting process more rigorous.

 

Surely this should read "until the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security can work out what the hell is going on"?

 

 

[kawika4058]

To override an executive order one another one has to be written expunge it. Obama wrote thousands of them, (more than all other presidents combined) Trump would be foolish not to eliminate as many as he can. The can of worms was opened by Obama, You live by the pen you die by the pen. So suck it up buttercup. How’s it feel to have the shoe on the other foot!

[ilostmypassword]

8 minutes ago, kawika4058 said:

To override an executive order one another one has to be written expunge it. Obama wrote thousands of them, (more than all other presidents combined) Trump would be foolish not to eliminate as many as he can. The can of worms was opened by Obama, You live by the pen you die by the pen. So suck it up buttercup. How’s it feel to have the shoe on the other foot!

Another fake news junkie. Obama actually issued fewer executive orders per year in office than any other president for the last 120 years.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/23/obama-executive-orders/

 

[pitrevie]

18 minutes ago, kawika4058 said:

To override an executive order one another one has to be written expunge it. Obama wrote thousands of them, (more than all other presidents combined) Trump would be foolish not to eliminate as many as he can. The can of worms was opened by Obama, You live by the pen you die by the pen. So suck it up buttercup. How’s it feel to have the shoe on the other foot!

Is that one of those alternative facts or have you no idea what you are talking about?

[Saradoc1972]

Exactly what Germany needs. Starting to like the man, could set an example for European sates. Then again, Norway and Switzerland can apparently deport to Somalia and Eritrea, and Spain can keep asylum seekers detained in closed camps, when other states claim legal reasons for not being able to do the obvious and ostensibly sensible.

[KhunBENQ]

Hidden a satirical video in Dutch language.

[kawika4058]

My bad, My mistake, but Trump has the right and should delete as many of Obama's executives orders as he can. If the left is offended, it comes with the territory turnabouts fair play . Much like the nuclear option the democrat senate put in place, they now have to live with it just as the republicans had too. 

[JB300]

You Americans do realise that Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will reciprocate.

Where are you going to go then for your summer holidays :)