Last month, President Trump signed an executive order suspending new-refugee admissions for 120 days and blocking travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia — for 90 days. Syrian refugees were banned indefinitely.
Since then, a federal judge in Washington State temporarily lifted the ban, and now, the president's order faces it's biggest legal challenge yet as a panel of federal judges prepares to hear arguments from the administration and its opponents.
NPR and dozens of member stations wanted to help the public understand where its lawmakers stand on the issue. Collectively, we searched for public statements on Twitter and Facebook, on lawmakers' websites and in interviews with us in public media or other news organizations. We did this for each of the 536 members of Congress — 100 senators, 435 voting members of the House, and the District of Columbia's nonvoting House delegate.
Overall, strong partisan lines are clear on the issue, with Democrats in Congress overwhelmingly opposed to the new travel restrictions; many of them joined in the airport protests, and some called it a "Muslim ban." On the Republican side, members generally support the order, although significant numbers did not make public statements. A few Republicans, especially in the Senate, stated their opposition or offered mixed messages, with some critical of how the order was carried out.
Loading...
