Washington(D.C.)[US], Jan. 28: US President Donald Trump signed an order to suspend admission of all refugees for 120 days while a new system is put in place to tighten vetting for those from predominantly Muslim countries, adding that preference would be given to Christians.
According to Washington Post, Trump said that the goal is to screen out "radical Islamic terrorists" and that priority for admission would be given to Christians.
"We don't want them here," Trump said of terrorists in a signing ceremony at the Pentagon. "We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people," he added.
In an interview, Trump was asked whether he would prioritize persecuted Christians in the Middle East for admission as refugees, and he replied, "Yes." Since the beginning of the -Syrian civil war and the rise of the Islamic State, many more Muslims than Christians have been killed or displaced because of the violence.
A 2015 Washington Post poll found that 78 percent of Americans favored equal consideration for refugees regardless of religion.
The order was called "Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States" and contained a temporary entry ban that would affect citizens of seven countries - Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.
The order calls for a halt to the flow of refugees from Syria until further notice and suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days until more analysis can determine which countries harbor the greatest threat.
Source: ANI