Donald Trump has suspended the issuing of visas to the nationals of seven predominantly Muslim countries for three months.
Although the text of Trump’s executive order did not name the specific countries, CNN reports that a White House official said they are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.
He signed the order at the Pentagon after a ceremony to swear in James Mattis as defence secretary.
Trump also stopped the entry of Syrian refugees into the US and ordered a complete halt on refugee admissions for 120 days until “significant changes” are made.
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The US President said the new measures would help to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US”.
“I’m establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people.”
“I hereby proclaim that the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States and thus suspend any such entry,” the order reads.
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Henceforth, all immigration programmes will include questions to “evaluate the applicant’s likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society”, the order also said.
President Trump, before signing the order, had hinted that Christians would be given priority among Syrians who apply for refugee status in the future.
According to the executive order, the US will only admit 50,000 refugees in 2017.
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