Visit. And the Vice President attends a d. C. Demonstration. President trump actually asked me to be here with you today. When all in starts right now. Good evening from new york, im chris hayes. Theres a lot going on tonight. Just over a year and a month since candidate trump called for a complete and total shutdown of muslims entering the United States, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at fulfilling at least part of that goal. Hewing closely to the rhetoric of banning entry to the United States based on country of origin and possibly even religion, here is the president today. Im establishing new vetting measures to keep radical islamic terrorists out of the United States of america. We dont want them here. We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas. And this is the protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entities into the United States. We all know what that means. Protection of the nation from Foreign Terrorists entry into the United States. Thats big stuff. The administration did not release the lengthy, complicated executive order until hours after the signing but it suspends the issuance of visas to people from countries of particular concern. Countries designated in a prior law by congress as iraq, iran, libya, somalia, sudan, syria and yemen. The executive order also stops the Refugee Program all together for all refugees from anywhere for four months pending review and installs an indefinite ban on Syrian Refugees. But, it makes special allowances for victims of persecution who are part of a minority religion in that country, a carveout that would apply to, for instance, christian refugs in muslimmajority countries. The state department in a statement sa it is working with the departments of Homeland Security and health and Human Services to put the executive order into effect. Reaction from lawmakers has already been harsh. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer tweeting there are tietier tears running down the cheeks of the statue of liberty. Congressman seth moulton says President Trump is leading our country out of fear instead of facts. His executive orders banning refugees and immigrants from some muslim majority countries in the United States playwright into the hands of our enemies. Amnesty international and the International Rescue committee expressed grave concern. Amnesty international saying this puts antimuslim bigotry into policy and is reminiscent of the kinds of religious discrimination weve documented in countries like iran and china. The can executive order President Trump issued today is cruel, inhumane and violates law. Joining me now, ari melber. All of us have been attempting to work our way through what is very complicated let me say Immigration Law is the craziest, most complicated area of law. Swiss cheese. Theres one component which is visas. Whats going on in the visa front . This is suspending visas in the way people would be cleared to come in based on a host of considerations. So the main thing here, the biggest power hooer is that its completely temporarily suspending immigration from the list of countries you mentioned. That means grad students, med students, doctors, engineers in an oil field in houston whos coming over from, say, iraq. All of it. So as a first step its not vetting of any kind extreme or lax. Its shutting the door to those countries. This has been pointed out by others and ill stress it here, the opening provisions, the starting language of this thing says we have to worry about immigration given 9 11. And this doesnt do anything with regard to the home countries of the attackers on 9 11 of saudi arabia, uae or egypt. Doesnt touch those countries in any way. What it does go on to do is, as you mentioned, take down those seven countries. What is a clever legal strategy here that might actually really matter is those countries are based on a law that cited them in a different context but cited them as dangerous. Its a law Congress Passed and president obama signed. It was a law that basically said you could have a waiver of the normal visa requirements if you were from a favored country like, say, england, but if you stopped in a dangerous place like syria or iraq you dont get your waiver anymore. I see. Theyve take than danger list and now theyre saying, hey, if you come from that country, you dont get in at all. So i want to be, like, really clear here, right . Because this is not you know, what the president when he was running, called for, is a temporary ban on all muslims coming into the country. This is not that. No. And almost certainly would not have been held up in court, i think. Theres a general feeling. We heard from many constitutional experts who said it probably would not but thats unknown and there have been times if you go back far enough, not precedents that are popular, there were restrictions on catholics and jews if you go back far enough. Finally here, refugees. Indefinite ban on all Syrian Refugees which is the place producing the most refugees in the world right now. Its a maelstrom of unceasing horror and a ban a ban on all refugees everywhere. Correct. This is a suspension of the entire Refugee Program. Its saying even people facing discrimination, the type of people the United States prioritize to some degree because of what they were up against nothing for a while while they put this review on and nothing from syria as all. That is again, thats a slam door. So what you see in this as well is opening the door to further bans because it says in this new order that the dhs and the secretary of state can then propose new countries. Donald trump, if youre watching, because i know sometimes you watch, what he may decide is oh, wait, i can add to that this helps me so if i heard, oh, maybe i should ban saudi arabia, well, the d can do that. Im not suggesting that, i not making a policy recommendation one way or the other to the president. But this is an order that basically gives a lot of power in the executive to do this. The reason why its not a religious ban which is important is as i mentioned it uses other criteria. It does mention things like honor killings in its preamble. But we have to be fair, this is not a religious test as written. All right, ari melber, thank you very much. Thank you. Joining me now, senator jeff merkley of oregon. Senator, the argument made by proponents of the president s policy is that basically better safe than sorry. We care about america and american lives and you dont know. You have to be careful with these folks. What do you say to that . Chris, lady liberty is crying tonight. She didnt say give me your poor and your tired and your huddled masses yearning to be free only if they are this religion or that religion or this ethnicity or that ethnicity and we really know that the most vetted group coming to the United States are our refugees. They go through a two year process and blocking out women and children and interpreters who have enhanced our National Security abroad is a mistaken direction to go. It will throw into chaos the Visa Waiver Program with europe. All these european nations. All by five of the European Union come here under the visa waiver. They only can come under that program with the highest passport requirements including a bio metric information and coded into a chip in the visa or in the passport. So its allowed the flow of individuals from europe to the United States. Thats before we get to basically this assault on muslims. What do you say to those, ari melber, who said this is very carefully crafted to not specify a religion. In fact, theres two things going on. One is that its a set of countries, all the countries are muslim majority. Another portion of the executive order says there will be reference give on the religious people victims of religious persecution if those people are minorities religious minorities in a country thats a majority other religion. You can imagine, say, Coptic Christians or syrian christians. What do you say to those who say this was crafted so it doesnt use islam or religion as a test . Clearly those who are lawyers have gone through to find a foundation on which they can pass a constitutional test but understand this. This ban on folks coming from seven islamic countries, primarily islamic countries is going to be perceived much as the program was previously, as the Previous Program that didnt result in a single prosecution. It was terribly ineffective in terms of detecting anyone who wanted to do our country harm but what it did was offend the entire islamic world and feed it into the isis rhetoric in which they are saying the United States wants to conduct a war on islam so well conduct a war on them. So this really feeds those fires and endangers National Security. There is a bunch of people noting today that today is Holocaust Memorial day. I saw the czech ambassador andy shapiroweeting his ielie mothers visa into this country that saved her from mass murder in germany when she was a jew do you think you have the better side of the political argument when you are making a moral case for why america has some moral responsibility to take in people fleeing the ravages of war . Its been so fundamental. We are immigrants. Unless youre 100 native american, we all came through the process of immigration, our parents, grandparents, etc. Its been that mixture that has been a tremendous strength of america and so for us to now say were not going to look at the problems of the world and admit those who are troubled, virtually none of us would be here if that were the case when our ancestors arrived so i feel it really great grates on the religious freedom of religion of the United States and it also goes against the grain of what has made america very strong and so all of that and then you throw in the fact that this strategy is going to be a major source of recruitment for terrorists around the world so you asked me about the politics. I dont know. But it goes against our fundamental principles and makes us in a more dangerous place. Senatoreff mercury, thanks for your time tonight. Thank you. Joining me now state representative omar. Representative, first i want to ground this in your story. Youre a refugee. Can you explain the circumstances under which you came to this country. Hi, chris. Yes i am a refugee. My family arrived here from somalia via kenya in 1995. After spending four years in the refugee camp. And going through an extensive vetting process to come here. What i guess the context i wonder if you could illuminate is what would push a family to leave the place they live in and love and go into, say, a camp and try to come to this country . I mean the circumstance with my family leaving their home country is because there was a civil war and it was no longer safe for us to be in that country and so we fled and seek refuge in kenya and entered a refugee camp in mombasa and after a long time in the refugee camp we were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to resettle here in the United States through the Refugee Resettlement program a that the Lutheran Services provided. All refugees if im reading this order correctly has been suspended for four months. All Syrian Refugees from the worst civil war in the world happening right now has been suspended indefinitely. Whats your response to those actions . Its sad and disappointing and its you know, it goes against the fundamentals of, i think, what our nation stands f for, for us to create a muslim ban, essentially, for refugees coming from muslimdominated countries i think would go against what we believe to be our foundations of being a welcoming country where we allow strangers to come seek new opportunities and to see themselves as part of the American Foundation and to seek their american dream. Its also important for us to note that many of the people that this particular executive order bans are coming from countries that the United StatesForeign Policy has contributed in destabilizing their countries and theyre living under a civil war that weve aided in in helping them seek a democratic nation. And for us to turn their back on them right now i think its sad, disappointing and every american who believes that furthering democracy in the world is a value we all believe in should stand up and voice their opposition and concern to this executive order. It is really important for us to recognize that extremism does not have a religion. It doesnt have a nation, it doesnt live in one continent. Here in the United States we face extremism every single day and we are facing more of threat from a lone gunman that goes into a school and shoots up young children. We face more of a threat from a lone gunman who goes into a Movie Theater and shoots up people enjoying an evening watching movies and so we have to realize that what this executive ban does is to create a divide, exploit the fear that we have and the ignorance that we have of people of a different faith, of different nationality and that is unamerican to me. I came here because my dad and grandfather believed in the american exceptionalism of coming to a country that was very welcoming and thats a country of immigrants unless you are a native american. We all have a history of being immigrants to this country and this is sort of the founding principles. Theres a saying that america is a place that is supposed to welcome everyone. Representative omar, appreciate your time tonight, thank you very much. Thank you so much. Up next from behind closed doors, republicans worry, even freak out a little bit, about their promise of repealing and replacing obamacare. Leaked audio gives a fascinating look to how the right is trying to grabble with their next steps. That story after this twominute break. Suck on and point decisively with the arm of your glasses. It is no longer eyewear, it is your wand of business wizardry. Abracadabra. Youve just gone from invisible to invincible. Step two before your meeting, choose la quinta. The only hotel where you can redeem loyalty points for a free nightinstantly so you can prepare to win at business. Book now at lq. Com mone hundredts thousand times a day, sending oxygen to my muscles. Again so i can lift even the most demanding weight. Take care of all your most important parts with centrum. Now verified non gmo and gluten free. Tonight, two major setbacks for republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act, a key priority of the new administration. Certainly the new congress. First, the Trump Administration planned to pull the plug on all obamacare outreach and advertising in the crucial final days of the 2017 enrollment season. Sources at hhs and on the hill told political even if ads had already been paid for. But after outcry from supporters of obamacare, Patient Advocates and insurers, theyre reversing course, deciding to continue Public Outreach for the last few days of open enrollment. We should note this is the first big win, really, for obamacare supporters in the early days of the new administration. This comes after the Washington Post obtained an audio recording of a closeddoor Planning Session at the gops retreat, revealing a party in chaos plagued by doubts about the way forward. We better be sure were prepared to live with the market weve created. Said congressman tom mcclintock. Thats going to be called trump care, republicans will own that lock, stock and barrel and will be judged in the election two years away. Another congressman used concerns about defunding planned parenthood. We are walking into a giant political trap if we go down this path of sticking planned parenthood in the Health Insurance bill said john faso, a congressman from new york. If you want to do it somewhere else i have no problem but i think we are creating a political minefield for ourselves, house and senate. Republicans in congress are learning the same lessons their democratic counterparts learned eight years ago governing is hard, especially when it comes to health policy. Though donald trump has managed to rewrite many rules previously governing the political universe, at least on this subject, gravity still exists. Joining me sara cliff, senior policy correspondent at vox, juniper rubin who rigwrites the right turn blog. This is a great get by the Washington Post. It sounds like the proverbial dog that caught the car, right . What do we do now . It has been seven years to work on a replacement plan and waking up to the thicket of the politics, its sort of astonishing. I have been one of the lone voices that said republicans were digging themselves a big hole. First of all, they have overpromised to the moon. They were going to make it cheaper and better and more choices. This is not dish soap, this is health care and theres only so many things you can do. Then donald trump doubled down and said he was going to give Health Care Coverage to e