On Friday, January 27, President Trump signed an executive order restricting travel to the United States of people from eight largely Muslim countries (currently Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) designed, he said, to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States. In this Q&A, immigration law expert Jayashri Srikantiah and national security law expert Shirin Sinnar discuss the order, its potential consequences, and the law.

There is some confusion about the order. Can you explain it?

Sinnar: The order suspends refugee admissions across the board for 120 days, ends the resettlement of refugees from Syria indefinitely, and blocks the entry of noncitizens “from” the seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days.  The Trump administration has reversed itself twice over whether this ambiguous language permits the entry of people from the listed countries who have U.S. green cards; most recently, DHS issued a statement that appears to state that it will admit green card holders unless it has information to deem them a security threat.  The status of other classes of individuals remains unclear, such as dual nationals of the listed countries; U.S. officials appear to have given contradictory information on the issue to their counterparts in various European countries and elsewhere.

How has the order been implemented thus far?

Srikantiah: The order has created chaos, confusion, and tragedy at our nation’s airports and abroad. Refugees and individuals with valid visas have been detained for hours and refused admission. Others have been stranded abroad, denied the opportunity to board planes to the United States. The federal government’s practices have varied dramatically by geography, and there appears to be no uniform rule for implementing the order. We have heard reports of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) subjecting even those not from the listed countries to lengthy delays and additional questioning.

Thousands of people—including many elected officials—have protested the ban, especially at airports. Attorneys have worked tirelessly to provide representation.