7 Facts About President Trump's Immigration Ban — And The Chaos That Ensued

The second weekend of Donald Trump's presidency was marked by demonstrators taking to the streets in major cities across the country.

Trump's immigration ban, signed Friday evening and put into effect immediately, caught airport customs agencies unprepared and upended plans for many international travelers.

Amid the chaos and charged rhetoric on both sides during a crazy weekend, here are seven facts you need to know about Trump's order and what it does — and doesn't — do.

What does the order do?

It does three things: suspends all refugee entry for 120 days; indefinitely suspends entry by Syrian refugees; and blocks for 90 days all immigration of citizens of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, following rulings from federal judges, said the immigration ban would not apply to Green Card holders.

Immigration officials, however, may "prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual’s country of nationality."

Critics say this would largely prioritize Christian refugees over Muslims and aid his campaign call for a "complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States."

You can read the order's full text here.

What does the order not do?

It does not bar immigration from other Muslim-majority nations such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, where the 19 September 11 attackers were from. (Trump has business ties in those countries.)

It also does not ban entry from Pakistan — the home country of the San Bernardino shooters — or Afghanistan, where Orlando shooter Omar Mateen's parents immigrated from.

Chaos after abrupt signing signing

The order caught many by surprise, including Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. Kelly was on a call with the White House to discuss the order, The New York Times reported, when one of his aides looked up at a television and saw Trump signing it as they spoke.

Green Card holders who have lived in the United States for many years, but who are still citizens of the listed countries, were detained for hours at a time or sent back to their home countries. Refugees whose applications had been approved and were in transit to their new homes were stopped just behind airport doors.

Federal court rulings

The first defeat for Trump's order came from U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly in Brooklyn, who said that Green Card holders could not be deported back to their home countries. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, in Boston, went a site further, ruling that Green Card holders cannot be "detained" solely based on the executive orders.

Immigration officials, however, according to volunteer attorneys at John F. Kennedy International Airport, were using that term loosely and instead said the travelers were just being "processed" slower than usual.

"These people are being detained," Avinash Samarth, a New York City public defender, told Patch. "They are not merely being processed through immigration. It does not take 26 hours to be processed through immigration."

National security experts say order won't help national security

Trump officials cited national security as the reason it had to be rolled out immediately. National security experts, though, say otherwise.

“In my opinion, this is just a huge mistake in terms of counterterrorism cooperation,” Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s former top counterterrorism official, told The New York Times. “For the life of me, I don’t see why we would want to alienate the Iraqis when they are the ground force against ISIS.”

What are leading lawmakers saying?

Democrats have been largely united in their opposition to the order, which they say is too restrictive and won't achieve Trump's goal of national security.

The order has been opposed by some Republicans, most notably John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Paul Ryan said Trump is "right to make sure we are doing everything possible to know exactly who is entering our country.” McConnell said the legality of the order will be left up to the courts.

The Washington Post has a running tally on what Republicans are saying about the order.

'Muslim ban'?

“This is not a Muslim ban,” Trump said in a Sunday statement amid criticism that he was following through on one of his signature campaign promises.

Rudy Giuliani, who does not have a former White House role but is one of Trump's closest confidants, said otherwise.

"When he first announced it, he said, 'Muslim ban,'" Giuliani told Fox News on Saturday night. "He called me up. He said, 'Put a commission together. Show me the right way to do it legally.'"

Image via Marc Torrence, Patch