Trump Signs New, Significantly Downsized Travel Ban

The president has said Friday he has “no doubt” his travel ban will prevail in court, despite the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals refusal to reinstate it.

Here's Everything That's Happened So Far:

  • Trump on Jan. 27 signed an executive order that suspended the US refugee program for 120 days, and indefinitely banned those coming from Syria. The order also barred entry into the United States for citizens of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for 90 days.
  • Protests erupted across the US as the impact of the executive order to restrict visas and refugees started to set in, stranding passengers at airports around the globe.
  • On Jan. 28, federal judges began pushing back against the order. One issued a stay that prevents travelers already in the US from being immediately deported, telling the court, "I think the government hasn't had a full chance to think about this."
  • Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was then fired on Jan. 30 after she ordered Justice Department attorneys not to defend Trump's executive order. She was replaced by Dana Boente, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
  • On Feb. 3, a federal judge in Washington state granted a nationwide order halting enforcement of both the visa and refugee provisions of Trump's ban.
  • On Feb. 4, after Trump attacked that federal judge via Twitter, an appeals court then denied an administration request to restart the enforcement of the executive order.
  • DHS Sec. John Kelly took the blame for the ban's rollout, admitting he should have delayed it to prepare members of Congress for "what was coming."
  • Appeals court judges have appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's arguments to reinstate the ban.
  • Trump signed a new executive order that drops Iraq from the list of banned Muslim-majority nations and that will no longer indefinitely suspend the Syrian refugee program.

Updates

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Trump signs new travel ban that drops Iraq from the list

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed a revised, and significantly downsized, version of his refugee and travel executive order on Monday that will take effect on Mar. 16. The original order — which caused a national uproar and nationwide litigation — will be revoked as of then.

The president signed the new executive order without the usual room full of photographers, reporters, and live video feeds. Press secretary Sean Spicer tweeted a photo of Trump signing it.

People from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen who are outside the United States and don't have a valid visa "are not eligible to travel" to the US for 90 days, according to the text of the new order and a fact sheet distributed by the administration.

Iraq was included with those nations in the first order, but was removed this time around.

Read more here.

—Chris Geidner, Zoe Tillman, and Talal Ansari

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New executive order may exclude current visa holders

A revised executive order on President Trump's travel ban that is expected to debut on Wednesday will likely exclude legal permanent residents and existing visa holders, multiple media outlets reported.

CNN and the Wall Street Journal also reported that the new executive order will likely revise or exclude language prioritizing the refugee claims of certain religious minorities, specifically removing a provision giving preference to refugees who are religious minorities, which would benefit Christians coming from Muslim countries.

The original executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries has been blocked by federal courts for weeks.

On Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the Trump administration would continue to defend the original executive order even after Trump signs a new one addressing the concerns expressed by the courts.

CNN reported that it remains unknown what will happen to the 120-day suspension of the refugee program, whether Syrian nationals will remain barred indefinitely, or whether the cap on the number of overall refugees will change from the current 50,000 for fiscal year 2017.

—Adolfo Flores

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White House will continue to defend travel ban after federal appeals court rules against them

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that the Trump administration will continue to defend an executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries after a federal appeals court denied their request to suspend the proceedings.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the administration's request to suspend proceedings on the injunction placed on the travel ban during the press briefing.

Spicer's comments came after a reporter asked Spicer what the purpose of defending the executive order was if President Trump was expected to sign a new refugee and immigration executive order that addresses the concerns the courts had about the original travel ban.

"Because we were right the first time. And I think that — no, no, I think it's not a question of proving a point," Spicer said. "It's that the manner in which it was done in the first place was what we believe and continue to believe was the right way to address this problem."

While the upcoming second executive order will attempt to address the judicial concerns, the goal is to maintain the travel ban the way it was done the first time.

"We believe that the law is very clear about giving the president the authority that he needs to protect the country," Spicer said. "I think part of it is for us to recoup, figure out what the court has said, and then reassess the strategy.

—Adolfo Flores

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Here's how we got to this point on the travel ban

A flurry of developments and reports at the end of the day Friday left significant confusion as to what would happen next with President Trump's refugee and travel ban executive order.

The administration has a few different options to proceed legally, after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the Justice Department's request to put on hold the ruling that froze implementation of the travel and refugee bans.

But now, a move from a judge in the Ninth Circuit means that a bunch of additional judges there likely will be having a say on what happens next.

Here's what happened and how we got here.

—Chris Geidner

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Trump may issue a "brand new" executive order after courts blocked his travel ban

President Trump on Friday said he may issue a new executive order as his travel ban remains blocked in the courts.

Trump made the comment while traveling aboard Air Force One, according a White House pool report, saying "we will win that battle."

"The unfortunate part is that it takes time statutorily, but we will win that battle," Trump said. "We also have a lot of other options, including just filing a brand new order."

Trump's first order temporarily halted the refugee program and stopped immigration by people from seven Muslim-majority countries. However, on Feb. 3, a federal judge halted enforcement of the order.

On Thursday, a federal appeals court dealt another blow to the Trump administration when it refused to reinstate the order.

— Jim Dalrymple II

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Canadians report being questioned and turned away at the US border

Five Canadians say they were questioned and turned away while trying to cross into the US.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported Friday that 19-year-old Yassine Aber was refused entry into the US while trying to attend a track meet in Boston. He was also questioned for five hours and had his phone searched, the CBC reported.

Aber was born in Canada to parents from Morocco. He was reportedly traveling on a valid Canadian passport.

On Saturday, Fadwa Alaoui — who is a Moroccan-born Canadian citizen and Muslim — also was turned away, along with her two children and a cousin, the CBC reported. Alaoui said she was questioned about how and where she practiced her religion, as well as photographed and fingerprinted.

"I felt humiliated, treated as if I was less than nothing," Alaoui told the CBC. "It's as if I wasn't Canadian."

In a statement to BuzzFeed News Friday, US Customs and Border Protection said that it "strives to treat all travelers with respect and professionalism" while protecting people in the US. The statement added that the agency is "not at liberty to discuss individual cases due to the Privacy Act" but that there are "more than 60 grounds of inadmissibility divided into several major categories."

— Jim Dalrymple II

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Trump has "no doubt" his travel ban will prevail in court

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President Donald Trump on Friday said he has "no doubt" his travel ban will prevail in court, despite the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals refusal to reinstate it.

Speaking alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump also said his administration would soon be rolling out additional national security measures, but did not elaborate.

"We'll be doing something very rapidly having to do with additional security for our country. You'll be seeing that sometime next week," he said, before addressing the travel ban. "In addition, we will continue to go through the court process, and I have no doubt we'll win that particular case."

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld a lower-court judge's decision to freeze Trump's executive order temporarily barring all refugees, as well as travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries:Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen.

—Jason Wells

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Trump accuses judges of being politically-motivated after last night's hearing over his travel ban

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Trump attacked federal judges as being politically-motivated after a hearing on Tuesday night over whether his travel ban should be reinstated. All three judges of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's for reinstating the ban. The court said that a decision would "probably" come this week.

Speaking to law enforcement officials Wednesday, Trump criticized the panel of judges despite there being no decision on the ban yet.

"I don't ever want to call a court biased, so I won't call it biased and we haven't had a decision yet," Trump said. "But courts seem to be so political."

He also cited a federal law to show that the president had power to enforce such a travel ban. Trump read out a section of 8 U.S. Code § 1182 law related to the suspension or entry of imposition of restrictions by the president.

"Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate," the law reads.

Trump said a "bad high school student" would understand the law.

"You can suspend," he said. "You can put restrictions, you can do whatever you want. This is for the security of the country."

He said that he watched Tuesday's hearing "in amazement" and that he "heard things I couldn't believe, things that really had nothing to do with what I just read."

"I listened to a panel of judges. I'll comment on that — I will not comment on the statements made by certainly one judge, but I have to be honest that, if these judges wanted to, in my opinion help the court in terms of respect for the court, they'd do what they should be doing. It's so sad," he said.

He later said, "I comprehend very well, better than I think almost anybody, and I want to tell you I listened to a bunch of stuff last night on television that was disgraceful, just disgraceful."

Trump also praised a federal judge in Boston who declined to extend a temporary restraining order against the travel ban on Friday. He said the "highly respected judge ruled very strongly in our favor" and the statements made by the judge were "perfect."

— Tasneem Nashrulla

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Appeals Court judges appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's arguments in support of reinstating the ban

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held a fast-paced telephone hearing on Tuesday over whether Trump's refugee and travel ban executive order should remain on hold while the legality of the order is hashed out in the courts.

All three judges from the appeals court expressed skepticism of the Justice Department's arguments for reinstating the ban, although one — Judge Richard Clifton — also expressed a fair amount of skepticism about the broad scope of the trial court order halting enforcement of the ban.

Judge Michelle Friedland, who presided over the hearing, said at the conclusion of the arguments that the judges, understanding the importance of the case, would issue a decision as soon as possible. The court earlier had said that a decision was not to be expected on Tuesday night but would "probably" come this week.

Read more about the hearing here.

— Chris Geidner and Zoe Tillman

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Homeland Security Secretary takes the blame for Trump's travel ban rollout

DHS Sec. Kelly on Trump travel ban: "In retrospect I should have —this is all on me, by the way — I should have del… https://t.co/Mfgk3y9ia8

DHS Sec. John Kelly blamed himself for not delaying the rollout of Trump's travel ban to "prepare for what was coming."

"In retrospect, I should have, this is all on me by the way, delayed it just a bit so I could have talked to members of Congress, particularly the leadership of committees like this, to prepare them for what was coming," Kelly testified at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday.

Kelly said that the executive order "began to develop" before he became secretary of Homeland Security and that after Trump's inauguration, he, along with a small number of his staff members, made some changes to it.

Kelly justified rolling out the ban quickly, "so that potentially people that might be coming here to harm us would not take advantage of some period of time that the could jump on an airplane and get here."

He said that a few adjustments were made in the hours after the order was signed.

Kelly acknowledged that people were inconvenienced, but said that all travelers at US airports were "treated humanely" and reports that people were "standing up for hours on end" and that they were insulted were false.

"I guess insults are in the eyes of the beholder," Kelly said. "But going forward, I would have certainly taken some time to inform the Congress and certainly that is something I'll do in the future."

— Tasneem Nashrulla

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Here’s where Trump’s travel ban stands right now

It's been a hectic few days. Here's a quick catch-up.

Friday, Feb. 3: US District Judge James Robart issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) halting enforcement of two key provisions of Trump's Jan. 27 executive order: the ban on travel to the US from seven majority-Muslim countries and the halt to the refugee program.

The State Department and Department of Homeland Security subsequently stopped enforcement of the ban after Robart's ruling.

Saturday, Feb. 4: Trump responded to the order by questioning Robart's credibility and attacking his "terrible decision." The president's reaction shocked many people.

The Justice Department went to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to ask for an immediate stay of Robart's order.

The appeals court denied the Justice Department's request to allow it to immediately restart enforcement of the ban.

In addition to that denied request, the Justice Department's lawyers also asked for a stay pending the department's appeal of Robart's order. That request is still under consideration.

Monday, Feb. 6: In filings early Monday, the states of Washington and Minnesota opposed the Trump's administration's request to stay or put on hold Robart's court order.

The two states were joined in their opposition to the travel ban by Hawaii, dozens of technology companies, former senior foreign policy officials, civil rights groups, a refugee relief nonprofit, and law professors.

Lawyers for Washington and Minnesota wrote in Monday's filings that Trump's administration were asking the court to "unleash chaos again" by staying Robart's order.

"The effects of the TRO were positive and immediate, as immigration procedures began to return to normal, families reunited, stranded students and faculty began returning to our States, and longtime State residents were able to return to their homes," the lawyers wrote. "Defendants now ask this Court to unleash chaos again by staying the district court order. The Court should decline."

The Justice Department's reply is due by 3 p.m. PT Monday.

— Tasneem Nashrulla

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A federal court judge in Detroit has halted the portion of Trump's travel ban order pertaining to "lawful permanent residents"

The Friday order by Judge Victoria Roberts "orders that the United States is PERMANENTLY ENJOINED from applying Sections 3( c ) and 3( e ) of the January 27, 2017 Executive Order against lawful permanent residents of the United States." The case was brought by the Arab American Civil Rights League.

As BuzzFeed News reported on Thursday, the temporary ban on immigrant and nonimmigrant travel for those from seven majority-Muslim countries was imposed as part of the executive order, and questions were immediately raised about whether lawful permanent residents — green card holders — from those countries would be affected.

Although the Department of Homeland Security initially said they were not covered under the order, the White House overruled that decision. On Jan. 29, however, DHS Sec. John Kelly issued a statement that all lawful permanent resident status would be a "dispositive factor" in determining whether to grant waivers allowing travel.

ON Jan. 30, White House counsel Donald McGahn wrote a clarifying that green card holders do not need waivers because the provisions of the executive order "do not apply to such individuals."

Those sections of Trump's order are below:

( c ) To temporarily reduce investigative burdens on relevant agencies during the review period described in subsection (a) of this section, to ensure the proper review and maximum utilization of available resources for the screening of foreign nationals, and to ensure that adequate standards are established to prevent infiltration by foreign terrorists or criminals, pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), I hereby proclaim that the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of aliens from countries referred to in section 217(a)(12) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12), would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and I hereby suspend entry into the United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, of such persons for 90 days from the date of this order (excluding those foreign nationals traveling on diplomatic visas, North Atlantic Treaty Organization visas, C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations, and G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 visas). ( e ) After the 60-day period described in subsection (d) of this section expires, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, shall submit to the President a list of countries recommended for inclusion on a Presidential proclamation that would prohibit the entry of foreign nationals (excluding those foreign nationals traveling on diplomatic visas, North Atlantic Treaty Organization visas, C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations, and G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 visas) from countries that do not provide the information requested pursuant to subsection (d) of this section until compliance occurs.

—Tom Namako and Chris Geidner

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Three California students sue Trump over travel ban

Three students at California universities on Thursday filed a lawsuit against President Trump and his administration over the executive order banning people from seven Muslim-majorities countries entering the US.

The students, who have valid F-1 visas, filed the suit on their own behalf as well as others who are in their situation with the ACLU and Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay.

According to the complaint, Stanford University freshman Hadil Al-Mowafak is unable to travel to Yemen to visit her husband because she will not be allowed to return to school. Wasim Ghaleb, a Yemeni student at a college in San Diego, traveled to Saudi Arabia to visit family before the spring semester. He remains there and is unable to return in time for spring classes, the complaint said. An Iranian Ph.D candidate at UC Berkeley, identified only as John Doe, is in danger of losing his job offer from a Silicon Valley company because of the order, the complaint said.

The complaint argues that the travel ban is unconstitutional because it unfairly targets people on the basis of their religion. It's also a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the complaint says, because it discriminates against people based on nationality, place of birth, and place of residence.

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New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a motion to join the federal lawsuit against the executive order

Schneiderman said Trump's executive order is "not only unconstitutional and fundamentally un-American," but also "does profound harm to our families, our economy and our educational and health care institutions."

He said he joined the complaint to protect the rights of New Yorkers.

"President Trump's intent to discriminate against Muslims is clear," Schneiderman said in a statement. "We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight this discriminatory ban and protect all those caught in the crossfire of its chaotic implementation."

—Mary Ann Georgantopoulos

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A Los Angeles federal judge issued a restraining order against part of Trump's executive order

Just confirmed: Fed'l judge in Los Angeles (CD Cal) issued TRO barring removal, detention, or blocking entry under… https://t.co/9IxZDICiUw

A federal judge in Los Angeles issued a temporary restraining order against President Trump's executive action, barring officials from blocking people with valid immigrant visas from entering the US.

The ruling, issued Tuesday, from U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr., dealt another blow to Trump's executive order blocking all people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days.

The order, "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States," also suspended the US refugee program for 120 days.

Birotte's ruling declared that federal officials couldn't remove, detain, or block people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who had a valid immigrant visa.

It follows other rulings against Trump's executive order. A federal judge in New York issued a stay on the same executive action, barring federal officials from removing people affected by the order. An order from Massachusetts stopped federal officials from removing and detaining those affected.

The latest ruling in Los Angeles took it another step further — but only as to those with a valid immigrant visa — by telling authorities they can't remove, detain, or block people with a valid immigrant visa from entering the country.

Because it only applies to people with a valid immigrant visa, however, the ruling affects a limited group of people potentially affected by Trump's order.

The White House also says it removed the need for waivers for green card holders under Trump's order.

The impact of the ruling also could be blunted by action taken by federal authorities on Jan. 27 to "provisionally revoke" visas of the people from the countries affected by Trump's order.

—Adolfo Flores

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White House removes need for waiver from green card holders affected by ban

.@PressSec says waiver is no longer needed for legal permanent residents.

The White House on Wednesday announced that it would no longer require a waiver from lawful permanent residents to enter the US, walking back a previous directive in President Trump's executive order that caused confusion among US green card holders, even resulting in some being turned back.

At a White House briefing on Wednesday, Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced the “update" to the immigration ban that “clarifies” the need for a waiver, Spicer said.

"We no longer need a waiver. Initially as the program was lifting off, the idea was that they would go through, be granted a waiver..." Spicer said.

The White House press secretary added that all appropriate departments and persons dealing with lawful permanent resident re-entry into the US were informed of the update, including the State Department, Homeland Security and the acting Attorney General.


—Talal Ansari

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London mayor Sadiq Khan says Trump’s travel ban is "cruel, prejudiced, and counterproductive"

Sadiq Khan, London's elected mayor, has condemned the inward travel ban enforced by the United States on seven Muslim-majority countries as "unacceptable for a liberal, open democracy like America" and called on the international community to stand together in opposing it.

Khan, speaking days after US president Donald Trump was invited on a state visit to the UK later this year, called on the government to rescind the invitation. A petition calling on the government to halt the trip has now reached 1.7 million signatures.

Khan, who is the first Muslim politician to become mayor of a major Western city, said in a statement: "You don't need me to tell you that there's no contradiction between subscribing to Western values – of human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and freedom of speech – and being a Muslim.

Read the full story here.

–Patrick Smith

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UAE foreign minister defends Trump's executive order, saying attempts to make it appear as a Muslim ban are "wrong"

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the United Arab Emirates foreign minister, said: "The vast majority of Muslims and Muslim countries have not been affected by this ban".

Bin Zayed, who is a member of the royal family ruling the country's capital Abu Dhabi, also went on to state that attempts to claim the ban targeted a specific religion, were "wrong".

The minister, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, continued: "This is a temporary ban that will be reviewed within three months. It's important to take these points into account."

UAE, made up of a federation of emirates, is a close ally of the United States, and is among a number of nations currently engaged in a proxy-war in Yemen – which is among the nations listed on Trump's ban.

He commented that states "undoubtedly" had "the right to take sovereign decisions", and that: "We also have to take into account that some of the countries on the list are facing challenges and these countries should fix their situations before raising the issue with the United States."

–Rose Troup Buchanan

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President Trump addresses whether or not he executive order is a "ban" in Wednesday morning tweet

Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!

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The UN says Trump's travel ban is not lawful and could lead to torture of refugees

UN experts issued a statement on Wednesday saying President Trump's travel ban contravenes international law, and could lead to people denied asylum being subjected to torture once they've been sent home.

The statement was written by a group of UN human rights experts, including the special rapporteurs on migrants, Francois Crépeau; on racism, Mutuma Ruteere; on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson; on torture, Nils Melzer; and on freedom of religion, Ahmed Shaheed, Reuters reported.

The statement read:

"Such an order is clearly discriminatory. based on one's nationality. and leads to increased stigmatization of Muslim communities. Recent US policy on immigration also risks people being returned, without proper individual assessments and asylum procedures, to places in which they risk being subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, in direct contravention of international humanitarian and human rights laws which uphold the principle of non-refoulement."

— Francis Whittaker

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Virginia becomes the fourth state to sue Trump over executive order on travel ban

Virginia will become the fourth state to challenge President Trump's executive order on travel restrictions, Attorney General Mark Herring announced Tuesday.

"This order is unlawful, unconstitutional, and unAmerican," Herring said at a news conference. "Action is required."

Washington, Massachusetts, and New York have all filed legal motions against Trump's executive order on "extreme vetting," temporarily halting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries and suspending all refugee resettlements for 120 days.

On Tuesday, Herring and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced they would challenge the order in court, which has been negatively impacting students and faculty at the state's universities.

Herring said there are more than 100 students at state universities who are now unable to visit their families. Colleges and universities also recruit faculty using high-value worker visas, which are now affected by the ban.

The decision came after after the Legal Aid Justice Center, based in Virginia, filed a lawsuit on behalf of two brothers who were denied entry to the US over the weekend because of the order.

The two brothers are lawful permanent residents, according to the center.

— Salvador Hernandez

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Hundreds of US diplomats sign dissent memo criticizing Trump's immigration order

Hundreds of US diplomats and State Department employees have reportedly signed a dissent memo criticizing President Trump's executive order suspending the refugee program.

A State Department official confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the memo was received on Tuesday, but did not say how many people signed it. Reuters, however, reported that roughly 900 State Department employees had added their names.

The memo was distributed via the State Department's "dissent channel," an internal venue for employees to offer constructive criticism, the official said.

According to the New York Times, the document went "viral" within the State Department, traveling quickly through dozens of embassies worldwide.

Various drafts of the dissent memo were circulating prior to it being submitted to the State Department. In one version, obtained by the Washington Post, the memo stated that "we are better than this ban" and argued that Trump's order "will not achieve its aim of making our country safer."

"Moreover, such a policy runs counter to core American values of nondiscrimination, fair play, and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants," the draft added.

— Jim Dalrymple II

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Sean Spicer says the phrase "travel ban" is a misinterpretation of the executive order

In his daily briefing White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the phrase "travel ban" is a misinterpretation of what the executive order does.

"It is not a travel ban," Spicer said. "A million people have come into the country — that's not a ban."

President Trump on Monday tweeted, "If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there!"

When asked about Trump's use of the word "ban," Spicer said the president is "using the word the media is using."

"I think the words being used derive from what the media is calling it," Spicer said.

Spicer went on to say the purpose of the executive order is to make sure people who are entering the US are "vetted properly," and that other countries provide US officials with proper information about passengers.

"This isn't about refugees it's about travelers," Spicer said.

—Mary Ann Georgantopoulos

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San Francisco is the first city to sue over Trump's sanctuary city order

San Francisco on Tuesday became the first city to sue the Trump administration over an executive order for the federal government to withhold funds from so-called sanctuary cities.

In a press conference, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said communities are safer when immigrants feel comfortable reaching out to law enforcement.

"The president's executive order is not only unconstitutional it's un-American," Herrera said. "This is not a step that I take lightly, but it is one that is necessary to defend the people of this city, this state, and this country from the overreach of a president who has shown little respect for our constitution, state's rights, or our rule of law."

San Francisco said it receives over $1.2 billion annually in federal funding, most of which goes to health care, nutrition, and other "safety net" programs.

While there is no legal definition of what makes a jurisdiction a sanctuary, they're generally cities, like San Francisco, who limit their cooperation with immigration officials. It became a big issue in 2015 after Kate Steinle was fatally shot in San Francisco by what authorities said was undocumented immigrant who had been deported numerous times.

San Francisco passed an ordinance in 2013 stopping police from holding people for federal immigration agents longer than their release date.

—Adolfo Flores

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More than 800 refugees will arrive in the US this week, Homeland Security chief says

More than 800 refugees will be allowed into the country this week and processed for waivers despite President Trump's executive order temporarily suspending the US refugee program, John Kelly, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a press conference Tuesday.

Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner of the US Customs and Border Control, said 721 travelers were affected by the ban which went into effect Friday and caused widespread confusion and protests at airports across the country.

Kelly defended the executive order as as a way to "safeguard the American people," adding that it is "not a ban on Muslims."

"I will not gamble with American lives," Kelly said. "These orders are a matter of national security."

Kelly, who addressed the press alongside officials from Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he will comply with judicial orders and enforce the executive order "humanely."

Kelly insisted that the executive order did not cause any chaos at airports, saying that chaos "was taking place in other parts of the airport" — referring to the demonstrations protesting the executive order.

The Homeland Security secretary was asked repeatedly if he knew the order was being signed on Friday. The New York Times reported Sunday that Kelly learned about the order as it was being signed on television.

"We did know the [executive order] was coming," he said. "We had people involved in the general drafting of it."

— Mary Ann Georgantopoulos

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Paul Ryan just made a strong defense of Trump's immigration order

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House Speaker Paul Ryan strongly defended President Trump's order curtailing immigration and stopping the refugee program from seven Muslim-majority nations on Tuesday.

He said that Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, "along with other cabinet members are going to make sure that we have the proper review and vetting so we can get this program up and running with the proper national security safeguards."

When asked about the chaos that erupted at airports this weekend and in courtrooms over the order, Ryan said, "I think it's regrettable there was confusion on the roll-out of this. No one wanted to see anyone with green cards or translators get caught up in this."

The order has been criticized as a "Muslim ban," which Trump promised on the campaign trail. In July, Ryan had this to say about such a ban: "A religious test for entering our country is not reflective of America's fundamental values. I reject it."

—Tom Namako

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Justice Department won't defend Trump's immigration order

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Sally Yates has ordered Justice Department attorneys not to defend President Trump's executive order limiting immigration and temporarily halting the refugee program, several outlets reported Monday evening.

"[F]or as long as I am the Acting Attorney General, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the Executive Order," she wrote.

Read more here.

—Chris Geidner

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Senior GOP lawmakers were left in the dark about Trump's immigration order

WASHINGTON — Senior Republican lawmakers who work on national security issues, including members of both Homeland Security committees, were not informed of "red flag" changes made to a draft of Donald Trump's recent controversial executive order on immigration until hours after the president signed it, sources say.

This version of Friday's events appears to contradict, at least partially, what the White House has said about congressional involvement in drafting and reviewing the executive order before it was signed. A senior administration official initially said over the weekend that "top immigration experts on Capitol Hill" drafted the executive action.

"Republicans on Capitol Hill wrote it," the official told pool reporters on Sunday.

Read more here.

—Emma Loop

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This map might make you think twice about Trump’s immigration ban

On Friday, President Donald Trump suspended all people from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days.

As he signed the order, Trump called the action "the protection of the nation from foreign terrorists entities into the United States."

"We all know what that means," he added. "Protection of the nation of foreign terrorists entry into the United States. Big stuff."

Of major terror attacks on US soil that have been linked to Islamic extremists since 9/11, here's a map of the countries of origin for the perpetrators or suspects.

Read more here.

—Ben King and Ellie Hall

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New Orleans is considering becoming a "sanctuary city"

NEW ORLEANS — In the wake of President Trump's immigration orders, officials in New Orleans are considering declaring the city a "sanctuary city" and refusing to provide the Department of Homeland Security with weekly reports on crimes allegedly committed by immigrants.

At Large Councilman Jason Williams told BuzzFeed News Monday that he and Mayor Mitch Landrieu "both have a great deal of fear about the [orders]" and are discussing pursuing legislation. Earlier Monday, Williams took part in a protest outside of City Hall during which activists demanded the city implement a slate of policies to protect undocumented and refugee populations, including refusing to work with DHS to identify immigrants and not providing the department with lists of crimes.

Becoming a sanctuary city would put New Orleans in direct conflict with the new administration, which has made ending the practice one of its top priorities. It is unclear whether the order would affect so-called "welcoming cities," which work to better integrate immigrants into their communities while avoiding more controversial actions like refusing to hold suspected undocumented immigrants or working with federal immigration authorities.

Adopting legislation making New Orleans a sanctuary city could mean an end to tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for the financially struggling city, and would certainly antagonize the White House and the Department of Homeland Security — which is responsible for deciding whether cities qualify for the punishments laid out in the executive order.

Still, Williams argued the city must take action — and soon. "To be honest with you, we're already behind the 8-ball. Its very clear that this White House and this administration is moving much faster than anyone thought they would," Williams said.

And, Williams rejected the notion that the threat of losing federal funding should preclude action. "Honestly, we need federal dollars more than anyone else. But we are not going to prostitute the city and allow inhumane practices here," he said.

Landrieu's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

John Stanton

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White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defends refugee order

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Monday defended President Trump's executive order suspending the US refugee program, saying that the "majority of Americans agree with the president."

Spicer made the comments at a news briefing where numerous questions focused on the order that prompted widespread protests and which have been characterized as a "Muslim ban." The purpose of the order, Spicer argued, was to proactively thwart attacks before they happen.

"We are not going to wait until we get attacked and figure out how we can make sure it doesn't happen again," Spicer said. "He is going to do everything in his power to stop any threat that we face in this country and every potential threat."

Spicer also argued that the number of people affected by the ban was small, saying that "this is 109 people being stopped out of 325,000 over a 24-hour period."

"And I think the government did a phenomenal job of making sure that we processed people through," Spicer said.

He later reiterated that "we are talking about 109 people" and said that "this has been blown way out of proportion and exaggerated."

Some people, Spicer continued, have either not read the order, or are "reading it through misguided media reports."

He added that "the system worked well."

"Again, look at how it worked," Spicer said. "When you talk about the 325,000 people, 109 were temporarily inconvenienced for the safety us all."

— Jim Dalrymple II

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Trump lied that Delta and protesters were to blame for the problems over his travel ban

Trump on Monday falsely said Delta Air Lines and protesters were to blame for the the mass outrage and confusion at airports nationwide this weekend, which was actually sparked by his executive order. He also blamed Sen. Chuck Schumer's "tears" for the problems at airports.

Read more on why his statements blaming Delta's 5-hour system outage, largely peaceful protesters, and Schumer's tears for problems over his travel ban are false.

— Tasneem Nashrulla

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Obama just spoke out against Trump’s travel ban

Obama statement on the protests of Trump's Executive Order

"The President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion," Obama's statement says, in part.

Read the whole statement here.

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Trump's executive orders face more legal challenges

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday said he plans to file a federal lawsuit against President Trump, the US Department of Homeland Security and high-ranking administration officials.

The complaint is attempting to invalidate key provisions of Trump's executive orders restricting visas and refugees from Muslim-majority countries.

In a statement, Ferguson said the executive order violates the US Constitution's guarantee of equal protection and the First Amendment's establishment clause, infringes individuals' constitutional right to due process, and violates the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.

Additionally, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a federal lawsuit Monday on behalf of more than 20 people affected by what they referred to as the "Muslim ban."

"There is no evidence that refugees – the most thoroughly vetted of all people entering our nation – are a threat to national security," Lena F. Masri, CAIR national litigation director, said in a statement. "This is an order that is based on bigotry, not reality."

CAIR argued that the order is unconstitutional because its true and underlying purpose is to "ban people of the Islamic faith from Muslim-majority countries."

Read CAIR's complaint.

—Adolfo Flores

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State Department officials to sign "dissent" memo opposing Trump's travel ban

Dozens of State Department officials are expected to sign a memo slamming the president's order, saying, "We are better than this ban," the Washington Post reported.

The officials are using the "Dissent Channel," which allows State Department employees to express constructive dissent and offer alternative views on substantive foreign policy issues.

"A policy which closes our doors to over 200 million legitimate travelers in the hopes of preventing a small number of travelers who intend to harm Americans from using the visa system to enter the United States will not achieve its aim of making our country safer," a draft of the memo obtained by the Post said. "Moreover, such a policy runs counter to core American values of nondiscrimination, fair play, and extending a warm welcome to foreign visitors and immigrants."

The memo said Trump's order would increase anti-American sentiment and "immediately sour relations" with "much of the Muslim world, which sees the ban as religiously-motivated."

Saying, "we are better than this ban," the memo said the order stood "in opposition to the core American and constitutional values," and that it called back to "some of the worst times in our history" including stringent immigration laws enacted in the 1920s and the restrictions on Japanese-Americans in the US during the 1940s.

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Pentagon compiling a list of Iraqis who should still be able to enter the US

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense currently is compiling categories of Iraqis who should be exempt from President Donald Trump's recent executive order, a defense official told BuzzFeed News.

Among the categories of people the Pentagon is considering outside the scope of the executive order, which bans Iraqis from entering the country for the next 90 days, include pilots training to fly F-16s and interpreters.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, who was not consulted before the executive order, defense officials said, asked that the list be compiled. It was immediately unclear how many categories would be in the request or whether it applies to those who worked alongside US troops during the 2003–11 Iraq War or only those currently part of the US–Iraqi campaign against ISIS.

Read more here.

Nancy A. Youssef

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Merkel renews criticism of Trump's refugee ban

The German chancellor has repeated criticism of Donald Trump's refugee policy during a press conference in Berlin Monday.

Merkel said Trump's executive order banning individuals from seven Muslim-majority countries went against the spirit and principles of international cooperation. Over the weekend, reports noted that the chancellor had to "explain" the Geneva convention to the recently inaugurated US president.

"The necessary and decisive battle against terrorism does not in any way justify putting groups of certain people under general suspicion — in this case people of Muslim belief or of a certain origin," Merkel told the conference.

"In my opinion, this act runs contrary to the basic principles of international refugee help and international cooperation," she continued.

"The Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry will do everything they can, especially for those dual citizens affected, to clear up the legal ramifications and to emphatically represent their interests under the law."

She added that her government was "clearly having close consultations with our European partners about this entire issue."

—Rose Troup Buchanan

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Trump says that if ban had been announced prior to the executive order being signed, it would have led to a flood of "bad dudes" entering the country

If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there!

—Jessica Simeone

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Trump tweets defending travel ban, blames "problems" on Delta Airlines, protesters, and Chuck Schumer

Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....

protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!

There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world!

Donald Trump launched into a series of tweets defending his travel ban on Monday morning, and blamed "big problems at aiports" on a Delta Airlines outage, protesters, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Delta Airlines did experience an IT outage caused more than 150 flight cancellations overnight Sunday. However, it is not clear how this is linked to the activity at airports throughout the weekend. BuzzFeed News has reached out to the airline, as well as Sen. Schumer, for comment.

The figure of 109 people being detained out of 325,000 travelers was initially given by White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday.

—Francis Whittaker

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Protesters in New Orleans say Trump’s refugee ban hits close to home

NEW ORLEANS — For Nicholas Pierce, President Trump's executive order barring refugees and Iraqis from entering the United States hits especially close to home.

During an impromptu protest outside New Orleans' City Hall Sunday, Pierce, a white Muslim American, told the crowd his message to Trump and other Americans worried about Muslim immigration was simple. "We are not terrorists, we are not trying to hurt anyone," Pierce said. "I had someone earlier today say to me, 'Why won't you co-exist with me?' I said, 'You don't know me. I've been co-existing with you for 27 years!'"

For Pierce, the ban on refugees is very personal. As a teenager growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the now–27-year-old law school student found himself essentially alone following the deaths of first his mother and then both grandparents.

While he was struggling to make ends meet as a 16-year-old washing dishes, an old co-worker, who was a 20-year-old student at Louisiana State University, and his family, who have the last name Abuhajah, eventually took Pierce in. "I was essentially fostered by a Palestinian family," Pierce said in an interview with BuzzFeed News.

Read more here. —John Stanton

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Latest statement from Trump administration backs down on green card holders

Kelly's statement saying green card holders from the 7 countries will not be included in ban

In a major reversal, a top Trump administration official said legal permanent residents will continue to be permitted to travel.

"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," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said in a statement. "Accordingly, 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."

Among the most radical elements of Trump's original move was including green card holders, whose status has long been relatively secure in the US immigration system. Trump aide Steve Bannon, who has played a central role in his young administration, reportedly fought to include green card holders — many of whom have lived in the United States for many years — in the ban.

Thousands of other people from the seven countries Trump has singled out — refugees and people who hold student, work, or other visas — will still be affected by the president's order. — Michelle Broder Van Dyke

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Trump just released a statement defending his executive order

As protests continue around the country, President Donald Trump issued a statement defending his executive order on immigration:

America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days. I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering.

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National protests continue for second day against Trump's refugee ban

Protests again gathered at demonstrations around the country on Sunday to rail against President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, suspending the country's refugee program and blocking entry to people from numerous Muslim nations.

Demonstrators gathered at JFK airport in New York City, as well as Manhattan's Battery Park. Additional protests were held in San Francisco, New Orleans, Boston, and elsewhere.

The scene here at SFO in San Francisco. You can hear the protest throughout the int'l terminal

Several hundred people at impromptu New Orleans protest.

The view from the steps of the Capitol

In Washington, DC, thousands gathered near the White House, but the protest didn't stay in place for long.

Soon the demonstrators begin making a push to march to the Capitol. Along the way, a sizable crowd peeled off to protest at the Trump International Hotel.

Protesters stood outside the front steps of the luxury hotel, chanting, among other things, "Shame."

One woman, Allison Giza, told BuzzFeed News she was visiting from Baltimore.

"I knew that there was going to be something going on... It's insane," Giza said. "How can I not be here?"

Another short clip from outside of the hotel. While many have stopped here, there's a stream of ppl stretching from… https://t.co/ZYVntndwyj

A crowd of about 100 people had gathered outside of JFK airport's Terminal 4 in New York City by early afternoon on Sunday, marking a second day of protests of Trump's immigration ban. The size was modest compared to the protests that broke out at the airport the day before, but stayed steady until evening.

Amid continued chants like "This is what democracy looks like" and "Let them in," Michael Raj, a 22-year-old first generation American, told BuzzFeed News that he came out to protect the opportunity for others that his parents had been afforded when they immigrated from India.

"The idea that that opportunity might not be around for other people who are trying to escape horrendous conditions is a scary thought because that's what my family legacy is based on," he said.

Raj, who is from Rosedale, Long Island, arrived at the protest with his friends, Tyler Bethune, 23, and Maham Bokhari, 22, who also live in Long Island.

"If this ban were applied to all immigrants, then I wouldn't be here and a lot of my family wouldn't be here," said Bethune who has family from Jamaica and Panama. "This is a country that was built on other people coming here and finding freedom."

"We gotta beat beat back the racist attack" protesters chant here at JFK terminal 4

As evening hit, one of the protesters, Nazli Parzizi, served traditional Iranian dishes like sour cherry rice with saffron chicken to the crowd. "The ban affects my family," said the 40-year-old, who lives in Brooklyn and is from Iran. Many of her family are still there.

"This is what I do, I feed people and I nourish them," she told BuzzFeed News, adding that she wanted to show her gratitude for all the people who continued to stand against the ban. "The best way of sharing the world is through food."

Inside the airport, a coalition of volunteer lawyers continued to seek the release of people who were being detained. Since the executive order was signed, 48 people had been detained at JFK according to Dorian Block, one of the lawyers assisting families. At least 16 were still in detention on Sunday night and two people had been deported, she said.

—David Mack, Lissandra Villahuerta, and Rosalind Adams

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Sixteen attorneys general label Trump's refugee order "unconstitutional, un-American, and unlawful"

Statement from 16 AG's: POTUS’ order is unconstitutional, un-American, and unlawful. We’ll work together to fight i… https://t.co/Wb7Il6HEqY

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and 15 other state attorneys general on Sunday condemned President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration and predicted it would be struck down by the courts.

In a joint statement, the16 officials blasted the order as "unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful."

"Religious liberty has been, and always will be, a bedrock principle of our country and no president can change that truth," the attorneys general said.

The statement was issued on the behalf of attorneys general from New York, California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Virginia, Oregon, DC, Connecticut, Vermont, Illinois, New Mexico, Iowa, Maine, and Maryland. These attorneys generals are all Democratic.

The AGs also stated they were "confident" that the order would be struck down by the courts.

"In the meantime, we are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created," they said.

Tanya Chen

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Jason Chaffetz: "There needs to be some further clarification" of immigration order

INDIAN WELLS, California — Rep. Jason Chaffetz, a conservative Utah Republican, said Sunday that President Trump's immigration order "needs some further clarification" with respect to the how it affects legal permanent residents with green cards.

The Republican, who pursued Hillary Clinton over her emails in his role as chairman of the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, told those gathered at a California retreat for Charles and David Koch's political network that he supported "generally" what the president was doing.

"If we're targeting based on religion, then I think that's wrong. I understand the need and support the idea that vetting from certain countries is needed," he said.

"A legal permanent resident is, I think, a different category and I don't understand what they're trying to do in those categories," he added. "People that have a green card supposedly already have been vetted. There needs to be some further clarification."

—Tarini Parti

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Priebus says immigration order will — and won't — affect green card holders

After green card holders from some countries were barred from traveling to the US under President Trump's new immigration order, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Sunday appeared to deny the rule would have a blanket effect on such individuals.

"As far as green card holders, moving forward, it doesn't affect them," Priebus said on NBC's Meet the Press, denying that the order would affect people with green cards who are from seven Muslim nations whose citizens are temporarily barred from entering the US. He repeatedly used the phrase "going forward."

But Priebus also contradicted himself on NBC, saying that "of course" the order would affect green card holders because "if you're traveling back and forth, you're going to be subjected to further screening."

"If you're a person that has a green card for whatever reason from Yemen, and you're coming back and forth to Yemen in the JFK, I think it's reasonable to expect that a Customs and Border Patrol agent's going to have a few more questions for you to wonder why in the world, you know, you keep coming back and forth from Yemen," he said on CBS's Face the Nation.

—David Mack

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Spicer defends preparations of immigrant ban: "The people that needed to know, knew."

.@PressSec on implementation of immigration order: "The people that needed to know, knew" https://t.co/CEw0xyBUn5

On Sunday, when White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked if the administration had given advance notice to the Department of Homeland Security about the impending refugee ban, he said, "The people that needed to know, knew."

Martha Raddatz, fill-in host for This Week With George Stephanopoulos, pressed Spicer, saying "people weren't ready," alluding the scene of chaos at the nation's major airports and confusion among TSA officials.

"What we couldn't do was telegraph our position ahead of time to ensure that people flooded in before that happened, before it went into place," Spicer said, adding that "cables" were being sent to the State Department as he gave the interview.

Spicer also defended the countries on the list, saying it was the Obama administration that had highlighted these countries, when Raddatz pressed him on why counties like Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were from, were not included if the executive order was about preventing terrorism.

"There were further travel restrictions already in place from those seven countries," Spicer said. "What the president did was take the first step through this executive order of insuring that we're looking at the entire system of who's coming in, refugees that are coming in, people who are coming in from places that have a history or that our intelligence suggests that we need to have further extreme vetting for."

—Talal Ansari

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Homeland Security officials "will comply with judicial orders" but "continue to enforce" Trump's ban

After federal judges began blunting the effects of President Trump's controversial immigration executive orders overnight, the Department of Homeland Security vowed to comply with the judges' decisions — yet still pledged to "continue to enforce" the orders.

"The Department of Homeland Security will continue to enforce all of President Trump's Executive Orders in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people," read a statement issued early Sunday. "President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place—prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety."

At the same time, though, officials said they "will comply with judicial orders."

The statement came after judges in New York and Massachusetts barred the government from detaining or removing those with approved refugee applications, valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and individuals from the seven Muslim countries where all immigration was halted who are otherwise legally authorized to enter the US.

Read more about the legal drama here. —David Mack

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Trump responds to criticism of his refugee ban

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!

The US president responded Sunday to wide-ranging criticism of his controversial refugee ban. It is his first public comment since yesterday, when said he believed his ban was working "very nicely."

"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump said yesterday. "We are totally prepared and it's working out very nicely. You see it in the airports, you see it all over, it's working out very nicely, and we're going to have a very, very strict ban, and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."

In the US, federal judges have pushed back against the executive order, signed on Friday, that suspended the US refugee program for 120 days, and indefinitely banned those coming from Syria. The same order also barred entry into the United States for citizens of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for 90 days.

Internationally, world leaders have condemned his policy. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel led the criticism, with a spokesperson for Merkel stating she was "convinced that the necessary, decisive battle against terrorism does not justify a general suspicion against people of a certain origin or a certain religion."

Read more here.

—Rose Troup Buchanan

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Federal judges push back against Trump's order

At least four judges have issued rulings in quick succession blunting the effect of Trump's order and calling its constitutionality into question, less than 36 hours after it was signed.

The moves against the order started on Saturday evening when federal judge Ann Donnelly, in Brooklyn, granted a nationwide stay of removal — preventing deportation — for those people affected by the order.

"Nobody is to be removed," she told the government lawyers.

Several hours later, after a late-night hearing in a federal courthouse in Massachusetts, US District Judge Allison Burroughs and Magistrate Judge Judith Dein issued an order that — as the petitioners' lawyers had requested — went further, barring federal officials from detaining, in addition to removing, the same group covered by Donnelly's order and adding those same protections, explicitly, to lawful permanent residents.

In addition to those two rulings, two more localized rulings came from federal courts in Virginia and Washington.

The first ruling, in US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, ordered federal officials to provide lawyers access to "all legal permanent residents being detained at Dulles International Airport". The second, in Washington state, barred the federal government from deporting two unnamed individuals from the US. Zilly set a hearing for Feb. 3 "to determine whether to lift the stay."

Read more on this developing story here.

—Chris Geidner, Tom Namako, and Cora Lewis

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Some airport detainees were saved from deportation at the last minute

A decision by a judge in Brooklyn offered Amena's family and others like her a reprieve from deportation Saturday night as officials removed her aunt from the plane just minutes before take-off.

"We got her off the plane!" she told BuzzFeed News. "She's coming home. She's coming home with us."

Hundreds of other families and friends found themselves in similar situations Saturday, just one day after President Trump signed an executive order banning entry to people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen indefinitely. A 120-day suspension for the entire refugee program was also included in the order.

Protesters and lawyers flocked to international airports Saturday as family members waited hours for loved ones to arrive, only to find out they could be deported.

Read more here.

—Salvador Hernandez

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Australian officials say Trump will honor deal to take in hundreds of Iranian and Iraqi refugees

President Donald Trump has told Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull his administration would honor a deal struck under his predecessor to resettle refugees currently living on Manus Island and Nauru, according to a government source.

Trump reassured Turnbull during a phone call on Sunday, the Australian government source told BuzzFeed News.

The landmark deal made last year under President Obama, will see hundreds of refugees, mostly Iranians and Iraqis, currently living in Australia's controversial offshore detention network resettled in the United States.

Read more here.

—Mark Di Stefano

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Airbnb is offering free housing to those turned away by Trump’s refuge ban

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky posted a message on Facebook Saturday criticizing President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily halting the US refugee program, and announced that his company will provide free housing to refugees who have been turned away from US-bound flights, and are not in their "city/country of residence."

"Not allowing counties or refugees into America is not right, and we must stand with those whoa re affected," Chesky wrote.

Read more here.

—Hamza Shaban and Caroline O'Donovan

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Federal judge halts deportations under Trump order

A federal judge in Brooklyn on Saturday evening granted a nationwide stay of removal — preventing deportation — for those people affected by President Trump's Friday executive order stopping the refugee program and halting immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly issued the stay after holding the first hearing on a challenge to the order, telling the court, "I think the government hasn't had a full chance to think about this."

At one point during the hearing, attorneys for the government said the Trump orders have unfolded with such speed, there has been "no opportunity to address the important legal issues" of people at airports.

Read more on this developing story here.

—Chris Geidner, Tom Namako, and Cora Lewis

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Here some of the most powerful airport protests images

For a look at the protests that erupted at US airports on Saturday, go here.

—Salvador Hernandez

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Protests that erupted at airports across the US included scenes of solidarity with the Muslim community

Happening now at #DIA. Protest turns into prayers. @9NEWS #9news

The protests kicked off with a large demonstration at JFK airport in New York, where an Iraqi man who worked as an interpreter for US forces was detained overnight Friday in accordance with President Trump's recent order restricting refugee and visa access, mostly for those from Muslim-majority nations.

Demonstrations ranged from smaller showings in places like Portland, to hundreds of people in New York and Chicago.

Flash protest at PDX has grown to about 150. Very peaceful, walking through lobby and loading areas. No delays.… https://t.co/YCAoFBYtCC

Protestors march through O'Hare's international terminal chanting "No Hate. No fear. Refugees are welcome here."

In San Francisco, hundreds gathered, demanded anyone detained under Trump's orders have immediate access to legal aide.

Police at SFO say there are probably 1,000 people here protesting Trump's #MuslimBan now

Even as protests in some cities started to wind down at nightfall, others continued to join, particularly in Chicago and at JFK, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the Port Authority to reverse its decision to only allow ticketed passengers to board the AirTrain to the airport, saying in a tweet that the "people of New York will have their voices heard."

New York police, however, had started to arrive at the scene.

—Jason Wells

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Demonstration against Trump's refugee ban swells at JFK airport

President Donald Trump's order blocking Muslims from several countries from entering the United States sparked a spontaneous and fast-growing protest at JFK airport Saturday that drew hundreds of people.

Taxi drivers joined in the demonstration, announcing a suspension of pickups for an hour in solidarity with immigrants who've been at least temporarily blocked from coming into the country.

Most of the people at the rally said they'd heard about the protest on Twitter or through other social media and decided to join, even if they had no personal connection to anyone affected. The crowd grew steadily from about 150 at 4 p.m., approaching 350 by 5:30 p.m.

Protesters compared the orders to the United States' initial reluctance to open its doors to Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis. At least a dozen signs quoted from the Statue of Liberty's inscription: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

Read more about the demonstration here.

—Tyler Kingkade

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Apple, Google, Uber, and other tech companies react to Trump's refugee ban

A source at Google told BuzzFeed News that "just under 200 people at Google affected" by President Trump's executive order, "but people across the company are freaking out."

The source added that employees have emailed managers, suggesting that "if their colleagues affected by the order cannot travel for conferences or work events then they will refuse to travel in solidarity.

"A lot of people are talking this weekend. Emails were flying around Friday," the source said.

For more on how Silicon Valley, and some of the world's biggest global technology companies, are reacting to the news of Trump's measures against refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, go here.

—Charlie Warzel, Nitasha Tiku, and Sheera Frenkel

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Tens of thousands of Canadians are now banned from entering the US

WASHINGTON — As the world processed the impact of President Donald Trump's immigration and visa orders Saturday, tens of thousands of Canadian citizens — possibly including the country's immigration minister — found themselves suddenly barred from entering Canada's closest neighbor and ally.

There were 35,000 Canadians who shared citizenship with Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya or Yemen in 2011, according to Statistics Canada data. Another 75,000 people born in those countries live in Canada but are not full Canadian citizens.

What's unclear is whether Canadian citizens who were born in one of those seven countries but do not have dual citizenship will also be banned from entering the US. If that is the case, the number of affected Canadian citizens would rise to 170,000.

Read more here.

—Paul McLeod and Emma Loop

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An Iraqi who helped the US military was among the first to be detained under Trump's ban

An Iraqi man who risked his life working for US forces was among the first refugees and immigrants blocked at American airports on Friday night, as President Donald Trump's order halting arrivals from several Muslim nations came into effect.

The first legal challenge to Trump's action was filed on Saturday by the Iraqi man, Hameed Khalid Darweesh, and another compatriot, both of who had US visas and were in the air when the president signed the executive order and were then detained upon arrival.

Darweesh was released from custody Saturday afternoon after being held for about 17 hours.

Darweesh told reporters that despite his ordeal, he was happy to be in America, which he called the "land of freedom." He thanked those who had supported him, including those who had gathered to protest his detention at JFK.

Read more here.

—Stephanie McNeal

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