WASHINGTON \u2014
Setting a hard-line tone on national security, U. S. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered strict new screening for refugees to keep \u201cradical Islamic terrorists\u201d out of the United States and alternated tough talk with kind words in his diplomatic standoff with Mexico.
Trump traveled to the Pentagon, where he joined Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for the signing of an executive action to bring sweeping changes to the nation\u2019s refugee policies and put in motion his plans to build up the nation\u2019s military.
\u201cWe want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas,\u201d he said. \u201cWe only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people.\u201d
During his election campaign against Hillary Clinton, Trump pledged to put in place \u201cextreme vetting\u201d procedures to screen people coming to the U. S. from countries with terrorism ties. The order imposes a 90-day ban on all entry to the United States from countries with terrorism concerns.
However, it\u2019s unclear from the law cited in the directive specifically which countries are affected. A draft of the order had designated seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The White House did not immediately provide clarity on the affected countries.
The order also halts entry to the U. S. by Syrian refugees until the president determines that changes to the refugee assistance program ensure that admitting them won\u2019t compromise national security.
Trump also signed a presidential memorandum on \u201crebuilding\u201d the U. S. Armed Forces, giving Mattis 30 days to conduct a \u201creadiness\u201d review and report back on steps that can be taken this year to improve conditions.
Joined earlier in the day at the White House by British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump reaffirmed the United States\u2019 \u201cspecial relationship\u201d with Great Britain.
But he was also asked about more contentious issues, including his recent statements that torture \u201cdoes work\u201d in prying information out of terror suspects. Giving ground, he said his defense secretary\u2019s opposition would override his own belief. Hours later he stood at the Pentagon as Mattis, the retired general, was sworn in as the military\u2019s chief.
Trump was also pressed on whether he would revert back to Bush-era use of torture, in the news since The Associated Press and other news organizations obtained copies of a draft executive order signaling sweeping changes to U. S. interrogation and detention policy.
Trump said he would defer to the views of Mattis, who has questioned the effectiveness of such practices as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
\u201cHe has stated publicly that he does not necessarily believe in torture or waterboarding, or however you want to define it. … I don\u2019t necessarily agree. But I would tell you that he will override because I\u2019m giving him that power. He\u2019s an expert,\u201d Trump said.
The draft order, which the White House said was not official, also would reverse Obama\u2019s effort to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba \u2014 a place Trump has said he wants to fill up \u201cwith bad dudes.\u201d
The draft also requests recommendations on whether the U. S. should reopen CIA detention facilities outside the United States. Critics said the clandestine sites have marred America\u2019s image on the world stage.
Trump held firm Friday on another controversy \u2014 trade and illegal immigration from Mexico. He told reporters at a joint news conference with May that he had a \u201cvery good call\u201d with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto earlier in the day, but he reaffirmed his belief that Mexico has \u201coutnegotiated and beat us to a pulp\u201d on trade \u2014 and that would change.
\u201cWe\u2019re no longer going to be the country that doesn\u2019t know what it\u2019s doing,\u201d he declared a day after the Mexican leader canceled his visit to Washington in response to Trump\u2019s plans to build a border wall and have Mexico pay for it.
While the refugee actions are aimed at thwarting terrorists, the border wall is more for keeping out immigrants trying to enter the U. S. for economic reasons \u2014 though Trump has continually also raised concerns about criminals flowing north.
The flurry of national security moves and foreign policy outreach capped a hectic first week for Trump at the White House, giving Americans an initial look at how he intends to position the United States around the globe.
Trump, who met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, has the authority to determine how many refugees are accepted annually, and he can suspend the program at any time. Refugee processing was suspended in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and restarted months later.
During the past budget year, the U. S. accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 people from Syria. President Barack Obama had set the refugee limit for this budget year at 110,000.
Trump, according to the executive action, plans to cut that to 50,000. The order says that while the program is suspended, the U. S. may admit people on a case-by-case basis when \u201cin the national interest\u201d and the government will continue to process refugee requests from people claiming religious persecution, \u201cprovided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual\u2019s country.\u201d That suggests it would allow the admission of Christians from Muslim-majority countries.
In an interview with CBN News, Trump said persecuted Christians would be given priority in applying for refugee status. \u201cWe are going to help them,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been horribly treated.\u201d
Applauded by some in his own party, Trump\u2019s refugee action was strongly criticized by some Democrats.
\u201cTears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty tonight as a grand tradition of America, welcoming immigrants, that has existed since America was founded has been stomped upon,\u201d said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Trump\u2019s order was signed on Holocaust Remembrance Day, which brought to mind the global effort to help refugees during World War II and its aftermath.
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