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Priebus says Trump’s order doesn’t affect green card holders

by Rebecca Savransky - 01/29/17 10:57 AM ET
by Rebecca Savransky - 01/29/17 10:57 AM ET

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Sunday said the president’s executive order barring refugees and people from seven majority-Muslim nations does not affect green card holders.

“We didn’t overrule the Department of Homeland Security, as far as green card holders moving forward, it doesn’t affect them,” Priebus said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

But Priebus noted if a person is traveling back and forth to one of the seven countries included in that order, that person is likely to be “subjected temporarily with more questioning until a better program is put in place.”
 
{mosads}”We don’t want people that are traveling back and forth to one of these seven countries that harbor terrorists to be traveling freely back and forth between the United States and those countries,” he said.
 
When pressed further on whether the order impacts green card holders, though, Priebus appeared to reverse himself, saying, “Well, of course it does.”
 
“If you’re traveling back and forth, you’re going to be subjected to further screening,” he said.
 
Priebus then clarified that it was up to the “discretionary authority” of a Customs and Border Patrol agent whether people traveling back and forth to these seven countries receive extra questioning, reiterating that Trump’s executive order does not impact green card holders.

Priebus also said more countries could be added to the list already included in the president’s executive order.

“Perhaps other countries needed to be added to an executive order going forward,” he said.

“But in order to do this in a way that was expeditious, in a way that would pass muster quickly, we used the 7 countries that have already been codified and identified.”

He said the order was “done for the protection of Americans, and waiting another three days, waiting another three weeks is something that we don’t want to get wrong.”

“President Trump is not willing to get this wrong,” he said, “which is why he wants to move forward quickly and protect Americans.”

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