How President Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees and Immigration Impacts at risk Iraqis with U.S. Affiliations

How President Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees and Immigration Impacts at risk Iraqis with U.S. Affiliations

Congress created two special programs to protect Iraqis at risk due to their work with the U.S. government and other U.S. ties: (1) a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, and (2) a direct access resettlement program. On January 27, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order that directs the suspension of resettlement and visas for Iraqis. This would derail the programs that Congress created, leaving Iraqis who risked their lives to support the United States in dangerous and difficult situations. The executive order may also discourage others from working with U.S. forces in the future. While U.S. Customs and Border Protection indicated an exception will be made for SIVs, that language does not reflect a similar exception for the thousands of U.S. affiliated Iraqis in the direct access resettlement program.