Senior administration officials refused to identify the 11 countries affected by the new order, but said they were flagged previously for extra vetting using a process known as a “security advisory opinion.” | Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images Trump targets 11 nations in refugee order New screening appears to focus on majority-Muslim nations.

The Trump administration will resume refugee admissions, but will impose new security measures on 11 nations.

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Tuesday to restart the refugee resettlement program, which was suspended for 120 days as part of the president’s travel ban. The order initiates a new 90-day review period for the administration to conduct an “in-depth threat assessment” of the 11 countries, according to a senior administration official.


The administration did not disclose the 11 countries, but based on statements from senior administration officials they appear to be: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. All except for North Korea and South Sudan are majority-Muslim.

During the 90-day review period, refugee admissions from the 11 nations will be permitted on a case-by-case basis if the person’s entry is in the national interest and “poses no threat to the security or welfare of the United States,” the official said.

The new refugee order is the latest sign that Trump hasn't given up on restricting travel from majority-Muslim nations. During his presidential campaign Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." Days after taking office in January, the president signed an order that halted the refugee resettlement program and banned travel from seven majority-Muslim nations. That list was later reduced to six majority-Muslim nations, and still later to five majority-Muslim nations plus North Korea and Venezuela.

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The first iteration of the travel ban stalled amid legal challenges that contended the ban was a poorly disguised unconstitutional ban on Muslim admissions. That led the administration to replace it with a second executive order in March. Litigation stalled that order, too, but in June the Supreme Court allowed parts of it to move forward. Most refugee admissions were stalled for four months, during which time the Trump administration said it would review vetting standards. The new refugee order will almost certainly attract legal challenges as well.

Jonathan Hoffman, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, told reporters Tuesday that the process helped officials develop a more secure refugee admissions system.

“As a result of this review, the federal government has implemented enhancements that have raised the bar for vetting and screening procedures,” Hoffman said. He cited “increased data collection, better information sharing between State and DHS, and new training procedures to strengthen … our ability to detect fraud and deception.”

Senior administration officials refused to identify the 11 countries affected by the new order, but said they were flagged previously for extra vetting using a process known as a “security advisory opinion,” which allows the State Department to access inter-agency resources to screen a visa applicant.

As of December 2016, the countries flagged for security advisory opinions, or SAOs, were Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, according to a State Department memo obtained by POLITICO. Stateless Palestinians were also marked for the additional screening.

The SAOs in these cases were applied to males ages 16 to 50, according to the State Department document. Administration officials declined to clarify whether the same group was targeted under the new executive order.

Refugees not from the targeted 11 countries will also be subjected to more intense vetting under the administration's new standards. New procedures will tighten security around applications, interviews and background checks, according to Jennifer Higgins, associate director for the refugee, asylum and international operations directorate at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Higgins said the agency will seek more biographical data in the screening process. “This can help us better determine the truthfulness of an individual’s claim, including any criminal history or ties to bad actors,” she told reporters Tuesday.

Refugee officers with USCIS will collect phone, email and address information going back 10 years instead of the current five-year period, according to a State Department memo sent on Oct. 23 to refugee support centers.

Refugees will also need to provide current phone and email contacts for all members on “a family tree," according to the memo, whereas only a country of residence was previously required. A refugee’s family tree includes parents, siblings, children, current and former spouses, and the parents of spouses.

Higgins said USCIS would “forward deploy” fraud detection and national security officers to refugee processing locations overseas to advise and assist the interview process. The agency will also issue new guidance that clarifies when refugees will be classified inadmissible due to criminal history, including fraud and immigration violations, she said.

The administration will also temporarily suspend the "following-to-join" program, which allows refugees to bring their spouses and children to the United States, according to a report submitted to the White House by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke and National Intelligence Director Dan Coats.

The close family members will need to undergo the same baseline checks administered to principal refugees, along with other vetting steps. New security measures must be established before the program can resume, according to the document, which is dated Oct. 23 and marked unclassified.

The vast majority of refugee family members accompany the primary refugee to the U.S., but refugees file roughly 2,500 "following-to-join" petitions each year, the report states.

Last week, DHS confirmed that Trump would lower the ceiling of refugee admissions in fiscal year 2018 to 45,000, the lowest level since the start of the program in 1980.

When asked if the restrictions against the 11 nations could become permanent, a senior official said Tuesday that they wouldn’t “pre-judge the process.”

Earlier in the day, refugee resettlement groups and advocates expressed worry about reports of stringent screening measures.

Naureen Shah, senior director of campaigns at Amnesty International in the U.S., said the Trump administration was trying to use “fabrication and puffery” to make the existing refugee vetting process appear less secure than in actuality.

“Our big concern is that the refugee ban continues by another name,” she said.

Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a resettlement organization formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, said the new requirements would "create additional, unnecessary burdens” for people forced to flee their home countries. “The U.S. is decimating the refugee resettlement program at a time of unprecedented global need,” he said in a written statement.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated the status of South Sudan. South Sudan is not a majority-Muslim nation.