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About 900 State Department officials sign dissent memo

January 31, 2017 at 9:19 pm

Demonstrators protest against the Muslim ban at LA International Airport, US on 28 January 2017 [Aydin Palabiyikoglu/Anadolu Agency]

Roughly 900 US State Department officials signed an internal dissent memo critical of President Donald Trump’s travel ban for refugees and immigrants from six Muslim-majority countries, a source familiar with the document said today.

A senior State Department official confirmed that the memorandum in the department’s “dissent channel” had been submitted to management.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said yesterday he was aware of the memo but warned career diplomats that they should either “get with the programme or they can go”.

On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that halted travel to the United States by people with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days, and stopped the resettlement of refugees for 120 days.

There has been widespread uproar following the decision with protests being held across the world and in US airports.