Below is the language that was sent out in a press release from the White House last evening.  There is a lot to chew on here. As soon as I get a link to share, I’ll post it.

As I said to Breitbart, this is a good beginning. But, as I also said here, the Refugee Act of 1980 must be completely reformed by Congress because whatever Trump does here (although extremely important) is not permanent. And, what is being forgotten in our concern about security is the enormous cost of the program to federal taxpayers and to state and local governments.

I don’t know that President Trump has a full understanding of how much of a financial drain the program is on federal, state and local governments!

For those of you working in your communities to demand more transparency from government agencies and the federal refugee resettlement contractors, you will find Sec. 5 (g) heartening.

Perhaps we can figure out a way so that what you have learned about the secrecy that has been the watchword of the program in your local communities gets to the Director of Homeland Security General Kelly.  You know the refugee contractors are going to say they hold quarterly ‘stakeholder’ meetings, but will never admit how much they have tried to exclude you (concerned taxpayers!) from them until recently.

Former General John Kelly, as Director of the Department of Homeland Security, will have a major role in advising the President on what should be done with the USRAP.

Maybe the Administration should hold field hearings so they can gather your information!

Sec. 5. Realignment of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for Fiscal Year 2017.

(a) The Secretary of State shall suspend the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days. During the 120-day period, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Secretary of Homeland Security and in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall review the USRAP application and adjudication process to determine what additional procedures should be taken to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States, and shall implement such additional procedures. Refugee applicants who are already in the USRAP process may be admitted upon the initiation and completion of these revised procedures. Upon the date that is 120 days after the date of this order, the Secretary of State shall resume USRAP admissions only for nationals of countries for which the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence have jointly determined that such additional procedures are adequate to ensure the security and welfare of the United States.

(b) Upon the resumption of USRAP admissions, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is further directed to make changes, to the extent permitted by law, to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality. Where necessary and appropriate, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security shall recommend legislation to the President that would assist with such prioritization.

(c) Pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), 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 until such time as I have determined that sufficient changes have been made to the USRAP to ensure that admission of Syrian refugees is consistent with the national interest.

(d) Pursuant to section 212(f) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), I hereby proclaim that the entry of more than 50,000 refugees in fiscal year 2017 would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, and thus suspend any such entry until such time as I determine that additional admissions would be in the national interest.

(e) Notwithstanding the temporary suspension imposed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may jointly determine to admit individuals to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis, in their discretion, but only so long as they determine that the admission of such individuals as refugees is in the national interest — including when the person is a religious minority in his country of nationality facing religious persecution, when admitting the person would enable the United States to conform its conduct to a preexisting international agreement, or when the person is already in transit and denying admission would cause undue hardship — and it would not pose a risk to the security or welfare of the United States.

(f) The Secretary of State shall submit to the President an initial report on the progress of the directive in subsection (b) of this section regarding prioritization of claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution within 100 days of the date of this order and shall submit a second report within 200 days of the date of this order.

(g) It is the policy of the executive branch that, to the extent permitted by law and as practicable, State and local jurisdictions be granted a role in the process of determining the placement or settlement in their jurisdictions of aliens eligible to be admitted to the United States as refugees. To that end, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall examine existing law to determine the extent to which, consistent with applicable law, State and local jurisdictions may have greater involvement in the process of determining the placement or resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions, and shall devise a proposal to lawfully promote such involvement.

This Executive Order should eventually be posted here.

Post is filed in our Trump Watch! category.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Smoking Out Islamists via Extreme Vetting – Middle East Quarterly

Trump Refugee Order Balances Security and Compassion

Trump’s Exclusion of Aliens from Specific Countries Is Legal

“Peace Through Strength” – the Realist and Reaganesque Essence of Trump’s Grand Strategy

EDITORS NOTE: Here is the link to President Trump’s Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States