Hundreds of Refugees Enter US Despite Trump's 'Muslim Ban'

Amid massive protests denouncing U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order banning all refugees and people hailing from seven Muslim-majority countries, the government has granted waivers to 872 refugees that it will let into the U.S.

The passengers are considered “in transit,” a source from the Department of Homeland Security speaking under the condition of anonymity told Reuters, meaning they had already been cleared for resettlement before Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order went into effect.

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The document did not specify what countries the refugees came from.

Nevertheless, since Trump’s decision, hundreds of non-refugee visitors from the banned countries – which include Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen – have either been detained, deported or, in some cases, blocked from boarding flights entering the U.S.

This included 394 legal permanent U.S. residents who, despite having valid green cards, were pulled aside for extra questioning when entering the country.

This, the DHS said on Sunday, was part of the additional scrutiny that even green card holders traveling would be subjected to under the Trump administration. People from the banned nations would also be allowed into the country based on a case-by-case basis, the DHS official told Reuters.

The 872 refugees to be admitted, however, would be screened using former President Barack Obama’s procedures, which was usually a two-year process including several interviews and background checks.

It is not yet clear whether the DHS will grant more waivers, according to the official speaking to Reuters.

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Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” suspended the admission of all refugees into the U.S. for 120 days and barred travelers from the seven aforementioned majority Muslim countries, while allowing Christian refugees applying from the same countries to enter unquestioned.

Though Trump and team have been blasted in the media for supposedly coming up with this arbitrary list, the listed countries had been on the radar of the Obama administration.

The ban does not apply to the nationalities of those who carried out the 9/11 attacks, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.