President Donald Trump has banned the entry of Syrian
refugees into the US until further notice.
He has also halted the issuing of visas to the nationals of
six other mainly Muslim countries, including Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, for
three months.
Mr Trump said the measures were part of new measures to
"keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the US".
Rights groups have condemned the move, saying there is no
link between Syrian refugees in the US and terrorism.
Under Mr Trump's wide-ranging executive order, all refugee
admissions have been suspended for four months.
Mr Trump signed the order at the Pentagon after a ceremony
to swear in Gen James Mattis as defence secretary.
During the ceremony, he said: "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."
The text of the order was released several hours after it
was signed. Among the measures are:
Suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Programme for 120
days
A ban on refugees from Syria until "significant
changes" are made
A 90-day suspension on anyone arriving from Iraq, Syria,
Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, except certain visa categories such as
diplomats
To prioritise future refugee applications from those
persecuted for their religion - but only if the person is part of a minority
religion in their home country
A cap of 50,000 refugees in 2017 - less than half of the
upper limit under Mr Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama
However, a mention of creating "safe zones" within
Syria, seen in an earlier draft, was removed from the final order.
The order also said all immigration programmes should
include questions to "evaluate the applicant's likelihood of becoming a
positively contributing member of society."
In a TV interview broadcast earlier on Friday, the president
said Christians would be given priority among Syrians who apply for refugee
status in the future.
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