WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is trying to tamp down concerns about President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration order in the face of widespread protests, as some Republicans in Congress urged him to proceed with caution in the face of legal push back. Top congressional Republicans, however, remain largely behind the new president.
Trump’s aides are stressing that just a small portion of travelers have been affected by the president’s executive order, which temporarily bars the citizens of seven majority Muslim nations from entering the country.
The aides also say that citizens of those countries who hold permanent U.S. residency “green cards” will not be barred from re-entering the U.S., as officials had previously said.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly issued a statement Sunday, saying he deems the entry of lawful permanent residents to be in the national interest, and absent information indicating a serious threat to public safety and welfare, residency would be a “dispositive factor in our case-by-case determination.”
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