WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Donald Trump's order Friday to halt refugee resettlement in the United States for at least four months strikes a blow to 220 refugees already approved for a move to Syracuse this year, according to Catholic Charities of Onondaga County.

"They have endured years of persecution and, in some cases, torture, only to find their hopes of freedom dashed by the stroke of a pen," Catholic Charities Executive Director Michael Melara said in a statement Friday. "This is a human tragedy."

Trump signed an executive order Friday afternoon at the Pentagon that places a 120-day hold on all refugee admission and resettlement in the United States while vetting procedures are reviewed, and indefinitely halts admission of all Syrian refugees.

The president's order suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for the four-month period to determine what additional procedures should be instituted to make sure new refugees "do not pose a threat to the security and welfare of the United States."

The order also targets travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations for new "extreme vetting" measures aimed at keeping "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the United States, Trump said.

Catholic Charities and InterFaith Works of Central New York are the two largest organizations in the Syracuse area that work to resettle refugees in the region.

InterFaith Works said Thursday that it will likely shut down a portion of its Center for New Americans and lay off or cut back hours for 14 to 15 staffers as a result of Trump's order. The group helps resettle up to 50 refugees per month in the Syracuse area.

Catholic Charities said Friday that it will assess the impact of Trump's order on its staff and immediately institute a hiring freeze within its refugee services program. The organization said it was "deeply troubled" about the message Trump is sending to the world.

"The executive orders cause us concern, mostly because they put forward an attitude and approach that first views immigrants as a threat and liability," the organization said in a statement. "We view immigrants as an opportunity and asset."

Others, including a Republican leader in Congress, said Trump's decision was long overdue.

"Today, President Trump signed an order to help prevent jihadists from infiltrating the United States," said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. "With the stroke of a pen, he is doing more to shut down terrorist pathways into this country than the last administration did in eight years."

Melara, of Catholic Charities, said he doesn't believe there's any need to make the refugee vetting process any more rigorous. "The process for vetting refugees is rigorous and well documented," he said.

Those who apply for refugee status must meet the United Nations definition, proving they have a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

The U.S. vetting process can take two years or more, with all refugees subject to screening by multiple security agencies, fingerprint checks and biometric iris scans for refugees from Syria and other Middle East countries.

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