President Donald Trump's latest executive action is probably his most radical. According to a report from The New York Times, on Friday Trump signed an executive order that effectively bars refugees in seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering United States borders. Additionally, the order established a religion based test for refugees and instructed that those of Christian religion or other minority religions be given priority over others.
The seven countries barred, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen are linked to concerns about terrorism according to Trump's administration. The order exercises harsh regulations on these countries including an indefinite immigration ban on Syrian refugees and a 120-day ban on all refugee immigration into the United States.
President Trump claims that this order will keep out "Radical Islamic terrorists," and claims that his plan seeks "to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love deeply our people."
The president's plan has been met with widespread disapproval as it is contradictory and viewed by many as officially sanctioned religious persecution. Though his campaign for office announced it's plan for extreme vetting back in September, his rationale behind the plan largely hinged on the terrorist attacks of 9/11 as justification. But his executive order doesn't ban immigration on any of the countries that the 19 airplane hijackers come from including Egypt, Suadi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which all just so happen to be places that Trump does business or has business interests in.
Additionally, the president signed a memorandum on Friday that he says will call for budget renegotiations and a "Great rebuilding of the armed services," that would ensure "Our military strength will be questioned by no one, but neither will our dedication to peace."
You can view the full list of actions here and stay tuned for more details as they emerge.
