So I went and read the Executive Order that people are calling a #muslimban. (It's not that long.) I can see why people are worried, and I think we should make real efforts to help any refugees that come to us.
I also understand that halting the flow of refugees from specific locations could be detrimental for people who need immediate help.
Here's what I learned from the text though:
It doesn't mention Islam or Muslims.
The ban isn't permanent. There are time-bound reports required regularly from the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence is in the loop.
The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security can make exceptions "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."
There are public reports required every six months that will include information on terrorist-based activities by foreign nationals and "information regarding the number and types of acts of gender-based violence against women, including honor killings, in the United States by foreign nationals."
It emphasizes the role of "State and local jurisdictions" in placement and settlement of refugees. So states and possibly cities(?) could determine how many refugees they are willing or able to resettle.
Every refugee admitted will need an interview (no waivers), and there is a request for funds to train more Consular Fellows and have them learn languages so that they can conduct the Visa interviews.
The number of refugees is capped at 50,000 for 2017. That's a low number, but it's not as comparatively low as I thought. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/30/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/
A quick commentary: there's no doubt that administrative requirements can be twisted to carry out mean agendas. That's definitely a possibility here. Still, the text itself doesn't look insane. It looks like he's trying to make a reasonable effort toward preventing something many people perceive as a real threat.
Here's a link to the Executive Order:
