US green card holders from the predominantly Muslim Middle East countries covered by an executive order on travel will not be stopped from returning to the US, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said, as criticism mounted over US President Donald Trump’s action.
Trump defended Friday’s order, which halted entry to the US from seven countries for 90 days, after judges blocked parts of the plan and companies, lawmakers and foreign leaders weighed in.
Senators from Trump’s own party, notably John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, in a sharply worded joint statement, suggested the action had been too broad and potentially damaging to the US.
Photo: Reuters
“In applying the provisions of the president’s executive order, I hereby deem the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest,” Kelly said in a statement. “Absent the receipt of significant derogatory information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, lawful permanent resident status will be a dispositive factor in our case-by-case determinations.”
The administration also moved to assure nervous counterparts in the UK and elsewhere about how their citizens would be affected.
Trump, who spent part of the afternoon at a staff screening of the animated movie Finding Dory at the White House, emerged to say on Twitter that McCain and Graham’s statement was “wrong — they are sadly weak on immigration.”
Senators should focus their energies on Islamic State, illegal immigration and border security, “instead of always looking to start World War III,” Trump said.
In a statement from the White House and on Facebook, Trump repeated that the move was “not a Muslim ban,” and said his policy was “similar to what [former US] President [Barack] Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months.”
“I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria,” Trump said in the statement.
World leaders — including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and German Chancellor Angela Merkel — have denounced the move. Australia yesterday said it was asking the Trump administration to ensure its citizens are exempt from the ban, after US officials moved to reassure Canada and the UK.
A federal judge in Boston on Sunday became the latest to curb Trump’s immigration order, directing customs officials at the city’s Logan International Airport to let passengers from the seven countries with valid visas go on their way.
Protests were held at numerous airports and cities around the nation, including one outside the Trump International Hotel in Washington.
Signs at the Washington demonstration included “No Muslim Ban” and “The Pilgrims were undocumented.” Protesters led chants that included “No hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here.”
Judges temporarily blocked the administration from enforcing portions of his order to halt immigration and entry of citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. Under the order, the admission of refugees would also be suspended for 120 days.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed opposition to “religious tests” for immigration restrictions.
“It’s hopefully going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far,” he said on ABC. “I don’t want to criticize them for improving vetting. I think we need to be careful. We don’t have religious tests in this country.”
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