‘They Were Chopping Off the Heads of Everybody but More So the Christians. And I Thought It Was Very, Very Unfair,’ Trump Says
President Donald Trump has just signed an executive order that effectively bans Muslim refugees from war-torn areas of the globe like Syria, yet prioritizes Christian immigrants into the United States. The name on the order, as the president said when he signed it after a swearing-in ceremony of his new Defense Secretary, James Mattis, is the “Protection of the Nation From Foreign Terrorists Entry Into the United States.”
Trump announced he is “establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We don’t want them here,” he told the audience at the Pentagon. “We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country, and love – deeply – our people.”
Trump’s executive order “would enact a temporary ban on refugees and suspend visas to immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries,” The Guardian reports. :This would fulfill his vow to limit Muslim immigration to the United States, which he made while campaigning for the White House.”
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Many on social media have been sharing posts with images of Jews who came to America but were refused entry, sent back to Germany, and slaughtered in Hitler’s death camps. The U.S. disgracefully turned away tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants, including children, from its shores.
During the presidential campaign and even this week, Trump lied about the process refugees undergo to enter the U.S., claiming refugees are not vetted, which is extremely false. Trump now is promising those entering the United States will undergo “extreme vetting.” Refugees already undergo extreme vetting, which can take several years before being complete.
Trump spoke with Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) Friday morning. David Brody reports “persecuted Christians will be given priority when it comes to applying for refugee status in the United States.”
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“We are going to help them,†Trump told Brody. “They’ve been horribly treated. Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States?” Trump said. “If you were a Muslim you could come in, but if you were a Christian, it was almost impossible,” Trump continued saying, which is false. “The reason that was so unfair, everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair.â€
UPDATE: 7:31 PM EST –
Complete text of the order is here.