Outrage over Trump's controversial immigration order continues worldwide

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Europe

US President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order last week that bans travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and suspends refugee admissions into the United States has sparked concerns about the direction of US immigration policy.

The order, widely criticized and derided as a ban against Muslims, denies entry into the United States for 90 days for people coming from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen — not including green card holders. The order also suspended refugee admissions for 120 days, and indefinitely denied entry to refugees coming from Syria.

As worldwide protests and lawsuits continue to mount, Trump explained the policy is a way to protect the country from the threat of Islamist militants. It’s "not about religion" but keeping America safe, he said.

Demonstrators gather outside the US Supreme Court demanding US President Donald Trump reverses anti-refugee and anti-immigration executive orders in Washington, DC, January 30, 2017. /CFP Photo

China's Foreign Ministry, in a statement sent to Reuters, said it had noted the reports of the US administration's decision. "China believes that adjusting immigration and entry and exit policy is an act within each country's sovereignty," the ministry said. "At the same time, relevant moves must also consider the reasonable concerns of relevant countries," it added in a brief statement.

A torrent of international condemnation is being hurled at Donald Trump. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is perhaps his most powerful critic.

“The necessary and decisive battle against terrorism does not in any way justify putting groups of certain belief under general suspicion — in this case people of Muslim belief or of a certain descent. In my opinion, this act runs contrary to the basic principles of international refugee assistance and international cooperation,” Merkel said.

In the United Kingdom, more than a million people have signed a petition demanding the government cancels plans for a state visit by Trump. The petition will later be debated in parliament.

The Dutch government declared its rejection of Trump's policy and has asked the US for clarification. In a joint statement with his German counterpart, Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders said they are now examining the order's consequences for their citizens and residents with dual nationality.

Former US President Barack Obama on Monday praised protesters who amassed across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration orders, breaking his silence on political issues for the first time since leaving office.

This file photo taken on November 6, 2015 shows then US President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, DC./CFP Photo

"The president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion," Obama's spokesman, Kevin Lewis, said.

Meanwhile, acting US attorney general Sally Yates was sacked late on Monday for refusing to enforce Trump's executive order. She earlier told Justice Department lawyers not to defend President Donald Trump's temporary ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries. Press secretary Sean Spicer announced via Twitter that she would be replaced by Dana Boente, while a White House statement said that Yates had been fired because she had "betrayed the Department of Justice."

Earlier last week, Trump said he "will absolutely do safe zones in Syria" for refugees fleeing the war in the country, amid reports that he will task the Pentagon to prepare a plan for setting up secure areas in northern Syria.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen to help refugees "displaced by the ongoing conflicts," the White House said in a press release. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, however, warned on Monday of any attempt by foreign powers to establish safe zones in northern Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

Internally displaced Syrian children who fled Raqqa city stand near their tent in Ras al-Ain province, Syria January 22, 2017./CFP Photo

Criticism over Trump’s move is, however, not universal.

A new Quinnipiac poll released last week shows more American voters support his US entry restrictions.

The poll surveyed 899 voters nationwide by calling individuals on their landlines or mobile phones. By a margin of 48 percent to 42 percent, voters supported "suspending immigration from terror prone regions, even if it means turning away refugees,” as per Fox News. A separate poll carried out by Rasmussen of 1,000 people found that only 33 percent of people asked opposed the order.

In Europe, far right and populist leaders from Germany to the Netherlands have praised Trump’s move, as they hope that the electoral upset in the US can be repeated in their countries this year.

2016 US refugee admissions: The facts

In 2016, 38,901 Muslim refugees entered the United States—making up 46 percent of the nearly 85,000 refugees who entered the United States that year, according to a Pew Research Center report. At the same time, 37,521 Christian refugees were admitted into the United States, according to Pew.

Statista Photo via CGTN America

The majority of the refugees admitted were from Syria (12,486), Somalia (9,012), with the remainder coming from Iraq, Myanmar and Afghanistan among others, according to Pew.

Statista Photo via CGTN America

After nearly six years of war in Syria, Pew estimates there are approximately 11 million Syrian refugees around the world. The United States admitted about 12,000 refugees from Syria in 2016 under President Obama. But the highest number of refugees admitted to the US in 2016 actually came from the Democratic Republic of Congo — with 16,370 admitted that year.