US Pastors Call on Trump in Full-Page Ad to Reverse Immigration Order

Nearly 100 evangelical pastors and leaders in the United States urged President Donald Trump via a newspaper advertisement on Wednesday to reverse his executive order that temporarily blocks refugees from entering the country.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The pastors welcomed the Trump administration's concern expressed for persecuted Christians by Islamic extremists, particularly in the Middle East. However, they said the temporary ban on refugees will significantly reduce their number and refuse many Muslim families "hope and a future."

"As Christian pastors and leaders, we are deeply concerned by the recently announced moratorium on refugee resettlement," the evangelicals' advertisement stated as quoted by CNN. "As Christians, we have a historic call expressed over 2,000 years, to serve [those] suffering. We cannot abandon this call now."

Trump’s executive order, titled 'Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,’ bars travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the US for 90 days. Besides, all refugees are prohibited from entry for 120 days and Syrian asylum-seekers are barred indefinitely.

The Trump administration has repeatedly stated the US president's executive order was issued to protect the United States from terrorists who pretend to be refugees.

Moreover, Trump has charged the previous administration of President Barack Obama has made immigration of suffering Christians from the Middle East to the United States very difficult if not impossible.