MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On January 27, Trump signed an executive order "Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States," which blocks the admission of all refugees to the United States for four months and bans arrivals of all nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.
"All of these seven states happen to be Muslim countries, but they represent only about 45 percent of Muslim population around the world. The largest Muslim country, Indonesia, is not included in the list. It is an easy way for all of us to say that it is an anti-Muslim declaration or order, but in reality it is an instrument to say that anyone who is coming from a conflict zone in which ISIS [Daesh] or ISIS affiliate, like al-Shabaab, operate, will not be able to be admitted to the United States, or even visit the United States," Papademetriou said.
Apart from pursuing security aims, the order also seeks to satisfy voters’ expectations and reveals the president’s style of government, according to the MPI Europe president.
"What Trump is doing demonstrates to his supporters that he will follow suit with all of the things that he promised in his campaign. The indication is that he wanted to demonstrate to his voters that he is a man that they can trust," Papademetriou said.
The Executive Order signed on Friday stipulates that in fiscal year 2017 refugee admissions to the United States will not exceed 50,000.
In the first quarter of this fiscal year, the State department already allowed roughly 26,000 people in, Papademetriou noted. Therefore, Trump needs such radical measures, bringing the number of newcomers to zero in the second quarter, and possibly trying to admit no more than 12,500 – 13,000 people per quarter afterwards, reaching a 50,000-per-year aim.
"Some highly-troubling things about the order were that it was not shared and it was not vetted with professionals from various ministries in the United States, which means that this is the way that Trump is going to try to carry out the duties of the president of the United States. There were mistakes made, there is an overreach in many of the things that he mentioned," Papademetriou noted.
Trump’s order has sparked controversy around the world and led to multiple protests in the United States.
At the same time, a poll by Rasmussen Reports revealed on Monday that over a half of US citizens (56 percent) support Trump’s decision to partially curb immigration until the government finds better ways to keep out potential terrorists.
