President Donald Trump is expected to announce plans this week for changing the country’s refugee policy, and some charities in Oregon are nervous about his plans.
A leaked draft of Trump's executive order shows that it would bar the United States from accepting Syrian refugees.
Tom Mulhern, executive director at Catholic Community Services of Lane County, said his group helps resettle refugees. He thinks the ban would directly affect his work.
“One of the families that we accepted here a few months ago is from Syria and relatives of that family are on the list, they’re in the pipeline so to speak," Mulhern said.
"We’re just waiting for them to get their travel authorization from Turkey to be able to come here and join their family members who are already here. Is that going to be able to happen now?”
Trump's order would initiate a 30-day halt of travel from certain countries, which the administration said would prevent people who are "detrimental" to the United States from entering the country. Mulhern said the current vetting process is successful at screening out potential threats.
The executive order would also temporarily halt all refugee resettlement for 120 days.
