Trump’s executive order, which he signed Friday, suspends the admission of refugees from the United States and also halts the entry of legal immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. | Getty Nearly 1,000 diplomats express dissent over Trump immigration order The figure is remarkably high, and it comes after the White House warned the State Department employees to 'get with the program' or 'go.'

Nearly 1,000 State Department officials have signed and submitted a "Dissent Channel" memo blasting President Donald Trump's recent executive order on refugees and immigrants, a source at the agency said — a remarkable revolt from within the federal bureaucracy less than two weeks into the new administration.

The memo was submitted Tuesday, a day after White House press secretary Sean Spicer shocked many in the foreign policy establishment by suggesting that the diplomats could quit if they don't like the president's directive. House Democrats later warned the White House to back off its implied threats.


While it's possible Spicer's comments kept some diplomats from adding their names to the memo, it's also possible it inspired many to sign up. The State Department employees used what’s known as the “Dissent Channel” — a decades-old, legally protected way for Foreign Service members to voice concerns about U.S. policy — to formally send the memo to the agency's leadership, an official confirmed.

Trump’s executive order, which he signed Friday, suspends the admission of refugees from the United States and also halts the entry of legal immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. Trump insists the clampdown on immigration is crucial to ensuring that Americans are safe from potential terrorists.

But the order has caused panic and chaos at airports across the country, where many affected travelers, including legal permanent residents of the United States, were suddenly stranded. It also spurred anger worldwide.

The Dissent Channel has its roots in the Vietnam era. It is supposed to be confidential, but drafts of the memo have leaked in recent days. In one of those drafts, shared with POLITICO, the diplomats argue that the executive order endangers U.S. national security by alienating critical Muslim allies.

“The end result of this ban will not be a drop in terror attacks in the United States; rather, it will be a drop in international good will towards Americans and a threat towards our economy,” the draft dissent memo states.

In a carefully worded letter addressed to Trump, all of the Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, including ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, expressed disdain for Spicer’s insistence Monday that the diplomats should “get with the program or they should go.”

“The State Department’s Foreign Affairs Manual prohibits reprisal or disciplinary action against anyone who uses the Dissent Channel," the lawmakers pointed out in the letter, obtained first by POLITICO. "We are requesting your assurances that State Department personnel will not be subject to harassment or retribution if they take advantage of the Dissent Channel or offer policy advice that doesn’t align with White House policy decisions.”

They added: “It’s deeply troubling that your administration isn’t interested in hearing different perspectives.”

The committee Democrats also launched a page on their website on Tuesday that allows whistle-blowers to securely submit information.

State Department officials say that usually four or five memos are submitted through the Dissent Channel every year. During President Barack Obama’s final years, one dissent letter, which was signed by several dozen people, urged him to take military action against the regime of Bashar Assad to help bring an end to the civil war in Syria.