This Week’s Top Story:
Trump’s Executive Order on Immigration Sparks Controversy and Uncertainty
In keeping with months of campaign promises, last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order with far-reaching effects for United States immigration policy.
The order suspends all refugees from being resettled in the U.S. for 120 days, and suspends Syrian refugees from entering the country indefinitely. In addition, citizens of seven nations which have majority-Muslim populations, namely Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen, are barred from entering the U.S. for 90 days after the order was signed.
Trump’s executive action has had widespread effects almost immediately, amid uncertainty over whether or not current permanent legal residents from affected countries would be allowed to return to the United States after leaving. The administration has responded that lawful permanent residents will be allowed to re-enter the country after further security checks, despite some being initially detained at airports around the country. Some individuals, such as refugees or visa holders from prohibited countries, were already on flights headed for the United States, and were detained on arrival.
In the first days after the order, a federal judge temporarily halted authorities from deporting these detainees at airports when they have refugee status or valid visas, but stopped short of expressly allowing them to enter the country.
Protesters opposed to the order have since demonstrated at large airports throughout the country such as JFK in New York and Dulles in Washington. The President defended his actions and remained supportive of the order even after the backlash, claiming in a tweet that the policy is similar to a temporary suspension of Iraqi refugee visas during the Obama administration in 2011, and insists “this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”
Also this week:
… From Local News
In Central Falls, RI, police are still searching for an arson suspect who is on the loose, and authorities have released a video in hopes that the public can identify the suspect.
After 25 years without a K-9 unit, the Police Department of Woonsocket on Monday introduced a new police dog who, according to a press release, has already aided in making an arrest.
Warwick will be home to the state’s first Buddhist temple. Formerly the Jewish synagogue Temple Am David, the Rhode Island Hindu Temple Society, or RIHTS, purchased the space in Warwick for $400,001, according to a press release from RIHTS, and will be developed in stages.
… From National News
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was fired by President Donald Trump on Monday after refusing to support, or legally defend, the controversial immigration executive order. Dana Boente, a U.S. attorney from Virginia, will serve as acting AG until nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions is confirmed by the Senate.
Tuesday night, President Trump officially nominated Neil M. Gorsuch, an appellate court judge, to fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court left after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death. Like the man he is replacing, Gorsuch is reliably conservative on legal issues interpretations of the Constitution and social issues such as religious freedom.
As of Monday, the Boy Scouts of America will now welcome transgender youth, and has vowed to recognize the gender of applicants as provided, instead of using birth certificates.
… From World News
In what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an “act of terrorism,” a university student was charged with six counts of murder after a shooting attack at a mosque in Quebec City.
Government officials in the United States and the United Kingdom have fined Deutsche Bank a total of more than half a million dollars over accused money laundering in Russia amid the bank’s weak prevention measures.
Israel plans to build 3,000 new settlement homes in the currently-occupied West Bank, according to a statement on Tuesday from the Israeli Defense Ministry. The new plans come just a week after a different announcement on the construction of 2,500 homes, which has drawn criticism from Palestinian leaders and some in the EU.