WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

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1/ Trump executive order suspends admission of all refugees for 120 days while a new system is put in place to tighten vetting for those from predominantly Muslim countries and give preference to religious minorities. Trump said that the goal is to screen out “radical Islamic terrorists” and that priority for admission would be given to Christians. (Washington Post)

2/ The extreme vetting plan to establishes a religious test for refugees from Muslim nations. The order also stops the admission of refugees from Syria indefinitely, and bars entry into the United States for 90 days from seven predominantly Muslim countries linked to concerns about terrorism. Those countries are Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. (NY Times)

3/ The order will block 500,000 legal U.S. residents from returning to American from trips abroad. The president has also used language that will affect those who are in the U.S. already on visas and green cards. (ProPublica)

4/ Trump’s immigration ban excludes countries with business ties. His proposed list doesn’t include Muslim-majority countries where his Trump Organization has done business or pursued potential deals. Properties include golf courses in the United Arab Emirates and two luxury towers operating in Turkey. (Bloomberg)

5/ Trump’s immigration ban is illegal. More than 50 years ago, Congress outlawed such discrimination against immigrants based on national origin. (NY Times)

6/ Following Trump’s executive order green card, visa holders already blocked by airports. Within hours of the executive order limiting immigration from Muslim countries, green card and visa holders were already being blocked from getting on flights to the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security issued a directive at 4:30 p.m. ordering the Customs and Border Protection to enforce the executive order. People who were still in the air as of 10:30 p.m. likely face being blocked at the airport when their planes land, he said. (NY Daily News)

7/ A little-noticed move by Trump could make it easier to deport immigrants. The move stripped federal privacy protections from many immigrants, raising fears among advocacy groups that information people willingly submitted to the federal government during the Obama administration could now be used to help deport them. (Washington Post)

8/ Governing without a script. Trumps seems to be running his administration much like he ran his company and campaign, eager to weigh in on every issue and willing to make last-minute calls. (Wall Street Journal)

9/ Trump blows up the U.S.-Mexico relationship. In one of his first instances of Twitter diplomacy as President, Trump wrote, “If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to canc...

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