This is a post that I put on my Immigration Facebook page yesterday.   But I am also putting it here, slightly edited, for those of you who haven’t seen it or don’t have access to Facebook.

Here is my Facebook Post:

Well, whatever you think of President Trump’s start, he is sure getting things roiled up.   Some people are really upset with all of his actions, and others are thrilled.    But, what exactly did he do with this particular Executive Order, and what did he not do?   I have been getting some e-mails asking for clarification.   And, looking at the headlines, it seems that most of the news tends to get overblown.

Regardless of whether or not you like this Executive Order, it is a demanding new rule that will negatively impact the lives of a number of people (of course those who support it hope that it will protect people too).   But at the same time, it is important to not exaggerate what it really says and does — exaggeration helps no one.   So, I am going to try to lay out exactly what the new Executive Order does.

The first point is that the Executive Order shuts down refugee admissions for four months.   That means no refugees at all will enter the US for four months (earlier I had said that religious minorities will continue to come — but that was not accurate).  During this time, the government is supposed to go over its admissions process to make sure it does a better job screening for people who may be a danger to the US.   Once new and improved procedures are implemented, refugee processing will resume.   Refugees fleeing religious persecution (if the refugees are from a minority religion in their home country) will be given preference.

Even when refugee processing resumes, all Syrian refugees (apparently whether or not they are Christians) will be denied entry until the president determines that sufficient safeguards are in place to protect against potential dangers.   Also, the Order drops the number of refugee admissions from over 100,000 to 50,000.

The other main point of the Executive Order is that it suspends for 90 days all immigrant and non-immigrant admission of any person (except for certain government travelers) from seven Muslim countries — Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.   It is not clear that this order was meant to cover people who have green cards, but a clarification provided two days later on January 29, 2017, states that people from these countries who have green cards will be able to enter the US.

During this time — the 90 days — the US government is to assess the ability of these countries to provide sufficient information to the US to allow the US to evaluate whether or not any particular intending visitor is a danger to the US.    It also appears from the text of the Executive Order that other countries could be added to this list in the future if they are unable to provide the US with the information that we feel is necessary to determine whether or not potential visitors are dangerous.

So, what can we take away from this.   Here are some suggestions:

• Hopefully this is all temporary.   There are time limits on these restrictions.   We can pray that the Lord would give President Trump wisdom in this regard.  Hopefully most, if not all, of these restrictions can be lifted.
• At the current time, the only people who are affected are refugees seeking to come to the US, and people from those seven countries who are not US citizens and who do not have green cards.
• If you are from one of those seven countries and you do not have a green card, you do not want to leave the US.
• If you are from any other country, this executive order will not affect you and you are free to travel.
• However, if you are from any country where terrorism is an issue, there is always a possibility that your country will not be able to provide whatever it is that President Trump feels is required for security purposes.   There is always the possibility that in sixty or ninety days when President Trump completes further review of the information he is requesting from other countries that he could extend the ban on entry to people from other countries in addition to the seven already listed.   To be honest, I felt that the Executive Order was not clear about this — but I think that they are requesting information from more than just those seven countries.
• I think it is worthwhile to point out that although this is portrayed as anti-Muslim, I think that is not an accurate depiction of this Executive Order.    The suspension of Refugee Processing affects everyone — not just Muslims.    The seven countries are all, with the exception of Iran and Sudan, countries where there is great upheaval and lawlessness and virtually no central authority.   Iran and Sudan are countries that are both terrorism sponsors and are not friends of America in any way.  The president of Sudan has been charged with genocide by the International Court.  There are many Muslim countries that have much larger Muslim populations and, some, such as Saudi Arabia, are even viewed as sponsors of terrorism and are the source of terrorists, but they are not on the list of countries whose nationals are prohibited from entering the US.  I think that the real issue is that these seven countries either have no government that is capable of cooperating with the US or, like Iran or Sudan, will not cooperate.

This is a difficult issue and people have strong feelings about this Executive Order.   I, personally, don’t like this order.  I think it is too harsh, and will cause hardship to too many innocent people — including some of my clients.   But, many people feel that we have had eight years of a President who downplayed the issue of terrorism and the potential dangers, and they are frustrated — they want to see action.   And, in my experience the first steps of a reaction are often too strong, and then, often, there comes a degree of moderation.

Many people want to paint this Executive Order as racist or bigoted.   I don’t know President Trump’s mind, and I don’t know what he intends in the future.   But, as far as the words of the Executive Order, it is limited to only seven countries with certain poor-government issues and three to four months — and applies to all refugees, Muslim, and Christian.

I think we need to give President Trump a chance to work through this issue and try to reach a balance between immigration and safety.   Pray for the innocent people — many of them Christians — who are affected negatively by this Executive Order.   We are commanded by the Bible to pray for our leaders.  Pray that President Trump will seek God’s wisdom as he evaluates this situation.   And pray for God’s blessing and protection on our country.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consulate an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong