World weighs in on Trump ban with rebukes and praise

Kim Hjelmgaard | USA TODAY

BERLIN — President Trump's suspension of all refugee admissions and temporary ban on millions of Muslims entering the United States drew broad international condemnation Sunday — but also some support.

“For the first time ever one can say from a nationalist perspective: keep going, USA,” Germany's far-right National Democratic Party wrote on its official Facebook page.

Trump’s executive order Friday bans all Syrian refugees indefinitely, halts refugee entries for 120 days, and restricts for three months immigrants from Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — Muslim-majority countries with a combined population of 212 million.

Late Saturday, a federal judge in New York issued an emergency stay preventing deportations for those already in the U.S. or in transit with valid visas. Similar orders were issued in Virginia and Boston.

In Turkey, which has absorbed more than 3 million refugees who fled Syria's civil war next door, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simesk said Sunday that his country would "happily welcome global talent not allowed back" in the U.S.

Turkey, which is overwhelmingly Muslim, is not included in Trump's ban.

In Western Europe, France and Germany issued statements disapproving of the ban.

"When (Trump) refuses the arrival of refugees, while Europe has done its duty, we have to respond," French President François Hollande said, referring to a flood of migrants Europe has been forced to accept in recent years from war-torn and economically impoverished countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

"The United States is a country where Christian traditions have an important meaning. Loving your neighbor is a major Christian value, and that includes helping people,” said Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's foreign minister. "I think that is what unites us in the West, and I think that is what we want to make clear to the Americans."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to Trump on Saturday, but they did not discuss the refugee ban, according to a White House readout of the phone call.

Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Sunday that the chancellor "is convinced that even the necessarily resolute fight against terrorism does not justify placing people of a certain background or a certain faith under general suspicion."

Merkel allowed Germany to accept nearly 1 million asylum seekers in 2015, a decision that has produced a backlash in the country, marked by defeats for her party in local elections and attacks on immigrants.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, who met Friday with Trump at the White House, issued a statement, saying, "We do not agree with this kind of approach and it is not one we will be taking."

"President Trump’s executive order against refugees and Muslims should shock and appall us all," said Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party. He called for Trump's state visit to Britain to be put on hold.

While in Washington, May said Trump had accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to meet later this year. A public petition against the visit hit 100,000 Sunday, a mark that could trigger a formal debate in Parliament.

Geert Wilders, the anti-immigration front-runner for prime minister in the Netherland's March elections, cheered Trump's executive order.

"Well done @POTUS it's the only way to stay safe + free. I would do the same. Hope you'll add more Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia soon," Wilders said in a tweet. "No more immigration from any Islamic country is exactly what we need. Also in the Netherlands. For Islam and freedom are incompatible."

A spokesman for Czech President Milos Zeman, who has opposed European Union quotas for distributing refugees among member countries, also praised the ban. “U.S. President Trump protects his country, he’s concerned with the safety of his citizens. Exactly what EU elites do not do," Jiri Ovcacek said.

In France, right-wing National Front leader Marine Le Pen, who is a top contender in April's presidential race, said Trump was simply following through on his campaign commitments. "That's what bothers the media and politicians," she said.

In Italy, Matteo Salvini, leader of the Northern League, an anti-immigration party, told reporters he applauds the travel ban. "What Trump’s doing on the other side of the ocean, I’d like it done also here."

One of the clearest early rejections of Trump's visa ban came from Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to welcome refugees turned away by the U.S.

"To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada," Trudeau tweeted Saturday. About 39,000 Syrian refugees have been granted entry to Canada since Trudeau's election in 2015.

Iran said it would retaliate against its inclusion on the list of banned Muslim countries. "While respecting Americans & differentiating between them & hostile U.S. policies, Iran will take reciprocal measures to protect citizens," Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in a tweet Sunday. Zarif said the ban was a "great gift to extremists."

Moqtada al-Sadr, an influential Iraqi cleric, suggested that there should be new travel curbs and other restrictions for American nationals in that country, Iraqi media reported.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Organization for Migration, a U.N.-affiliated refugee watchdog, issued a joint statement urging the White House to reconsider its measures that affect vulnerable people fleeing war and persecution.