Good morning, and welcome to Monday and the start of another work week. President Trump’s order Friday on refugees and immigration dominated the weekend news in Minnesota, the country and around the world. Let’s check the Digest:
1.President Donald Trump’s order bars all refugees from entering the United States for four months, and indefinitely halts any coming from Syria. Trump said the ban is needed to keep out “radical Islamic terrorists.” The order also includes a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The action could affect the resettlement of at least 39 refugees who are scheduled to arrive in Minnesota in the next month. “There’s a lot that isn’t clear right now, the details for on the ground,” said Jane Graupman, the executive director of the International Institute of Minnesota, which resettles refugees. (MPR News)
2. The order sparked protests in cities across the country, including one at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport that drew about 1,000 people Sunday. Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar on Sunday morning blasted Trump’s order and called for it to be rescinded. At a news conference in St. Paul, the senators stood next to a mother whose 4-year-old daughter could be stranded in Uganda as a result of the travel ban. "This order was put out in a way that is terribly confusing. It is possibly, very probably, unconstitutional in that it targets country of origin and religion, both of which are unconstitutional," Franken said. "This is not our country." (Star Tribune)
3. At least four federal judges across the country blocked part of the order and temporarily ensured refugees and travelers who reached U.S. soil would not be deported, although there was still some confusion Sunday about who was still detained and who was being let into the country. Here are some legal questions and answers about the order. (NPR)
4. More uncertainty came Sunday when White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said thatpeople from the affected countries who hold green cards will not be prevented from returning to the United States. That was not the case on Saturday. Priebus added that border agents had "discretionary authority" to detain and question travelers from certain countries. Late Sunday President Trump defended the order. "To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting," he said in a written statement. "This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe." (New York Times)
5. While Democrats roundly condemned Trump’s order, fewer Republicans in Congress were critical. Arizona Sen. John McCain said the roll-out of the order had been a "confused process," and said the president should have consulted with federal agencies and foreign leaders before issuing the order. "The good news is that it's only got to do with a pause," he told CBS' “Face the Nation.” "The bad news is that obviously this process and these conclusions were not vetted." He added,"The effect will probably in some areas give ISIS some more propaganda," and said that he is particularly concerned about the effect the ban will have on Iraqis — whose troops are fighting with American forces in the battle to retake Mosul. (CBS News)
