Georgia Bulletin

The Newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta

Key points of Jan. 27, 2017 executive order on refugees, immigrants

Published January 30, 2017

Following are some of the key points of the Jan. 27 executive order:

  1. Secretary of Homeland Security ordered to conduct a review to determine what information is needed from any country worldwide to determine if a potential person from that country who seeks to enter the United States for any reason is who they claim to be and not a security threat; in 30 days a first report is required, including a list of countries that do not provide adequate information.
  2. Suspends entry into the United States as immigrants or non-immigrants people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen for 90 days.
  3. The list of countries may be expanded if additional countries don’t comply with the to-be-determined U.S. security protocols.
  4. Suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. During this period the Secretary of State, in conjunction with top officials of Homeland Security and National Intelligence, must review the process and determine what other steps to take to ensure security. After 120 days the refugee admissions program will only resume for nationals of countries approved by these U.S. government leaders.
  5. Refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious persecutions are to be prioritized ahead of other refugee claims, but only if the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s homeland.
  6. Entry to the United States of Syrian nationals as refugees is suspended indefinitely as “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
  7. Entry of more than 50,000 refugees in fiscal year 2017 to the United States is suspended indefinitely as “detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
  8. Secretary of Homeland Security is to look at law to determine the extent to which state and local jurisdictions may have greater involvement in the process of determining placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions.
  9. Expedites completion of a bio-metric entry-exit tracking system for all travelers to the United States.
  10. Suspends waiver program for visa interviews and requires all individuals seeking a non-immigrant visa to undergo an in-person interview.
  11. Requires public reports every six months of the number of foreign nationals in the United States who are: charged with terrorism-related offenses; convicted of terrorism-related offenses; removed from the U.S. based on terrorism-related activity, affiliation or material support; radicalized after entry into the United States and engaged in terrorism-related acts or material support to terrorism-related organizations; and number and types of gender-based violence against women, including honor killings, in the United States by foreign nationals.