WH releases list of terror suspects admitted to US from travel ban countries

White House on Wednesday circulated a list of 24 terror suspects who came to the U.S. from the seven Muslim-majority countries targeted by the executive order in an effort to push back against critics of President Trump’s action.

According to the list, which was obtained by Fox News, 10 of the suspects were Somali nationals, six were from Iraq, two were from Iran, two from Sudan, two from Libya, one from Yemen and one from Syria. They were all arrested on terror-related charges, and most were convicted, Fox reported.

The release of the list comes as the San Francisco-based Federal Appeals Court weighs whether or not to put Trump’s order back in effect as lawsuits against it proceed.

{mosads} A federal judge in Seattle issued a ruling Friday, ordering the government to cease enforcement of the ban as legal action progresses. The Trump administration quickly appealed the decision, arguing that the executive order was well within the president’s power to protect the country against potential terrorist attacks.

Trump signed the order barring citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries – Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia – from entering the U.S. for 90 days. It also placed a 120-day moratorium on the country’s refugee resettlement program and indefinitely halted the acceptance of refugees from Syria. 

Critics say the action amounts to a discriminatory ban on Muslims, and stands at odds with the United States’ history as a country of immigrants.

As a presidential candidate, Trump at one point called for a ban on Muslims — which he later walked back — and frequently argued that terrorists would pose as refugees to enter the U.S.