Amid outrage, Trump defends immigration executive order

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

In a statement released Sunday, President Trump said the executive order he signed on Friday "is not a Muslim ban," and while he has "tremendous feeling" for the refugees fleeing Syria, "my first priority will always be to protect and serve our country."

The order, which caused confusion and protests at airports across the country and outrage from Democrats and Republicans alike, stopped refugee entry into the U.S. for 120 days and barred citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen — from entering the U.S. for three months.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.