Ammar Sawan, 40, a Syrian refugee from Moadamiyeh, outside Damascus, speaks during an interview in his family's home in Amman, Jordan on Sat. Jan. 28, 2017. Sawan and his family took their first step toward resettlement in the United States three months ago, submitting to an initial round of security screenings. His dreams of a better life were crushed when President Donald Trump issued an indefinite ban on displaced Syrians entering the United States. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Syrian refugee Ammar Sawan took his first step toward resettlement in the United States three months ago, submitting to an initial round of security screenings.
His dreams of a better life were crushed when President Donald Trump issued an indefinite ban on displaced Syrians entering the United States.
Sawan said Saturday that he learned of the decision from TV news the night before.
"When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished," said Sawan, 40.
The upholsterer, who supports his family with odd jobs in the Jordanian capital of Amman, said he was especially disappointed for his four children who he had hoped would get a good education in the U.S.
He and other Syrian refugees in Amman bristled at the idea that they posed a potential security threat, saying they were both shocked and saddened by Trump's ban.
"We tell the American people that we hope he (Trump) retracts this decision," said refugee Mayada Sheik, 37. "We are not going out to harm people of other countries."
In an executive order Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. In a third step, he issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from countries with terrorism concerns, including Syria, Iraq and Libya.
Close to 5 million Syrians have fled their homeland since the conflict there erupted in 2011. Millions more are displaced within Syria.
Most refugees have settled in overburdened neighboring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey where the struggle for survival has become increasingly difficult. Savings have run out, jobs are scarce and poorly paid, while refugee children learn in crowded classrooms and have very limited access to higher education.
Many refugees say their first choice is to return home as soon as possible. But with the civil war dragging on, that's not an option and refugees increasingly pursue resettlement to the West because of tough conditions in regional host countries.
International aid agencies harshly criticized Trump's restrictions imposed on refugees.
The International Rescue Committee said the suspension of the refugee resettlement program was a "harmful and hasty" decision. "America must remain true to its core values. America must remain a beacon of hope," said IRC President David Miliband.
The group said the U.S. vetting process for refugees is already robust - involving biometric screening and up to 36 months of vetting by 12 to 15 government agencies.
Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said Trump's decision hurts innocents fleeing extremist violence in Syria.
"It will not make America safer," Egeland told The Associated Press in a phone interview from Norway. "It will make America smaller and meaner. It's a really sad rupture of a long and proud American bi-partisan tradition that America would be there for those fleeing from terror and for the weak and the vulnerable in the world, which are the refugees."
The NRC is a leading refugee aid agency, assisting more than 1 million Syrians.
___
Associated Press writer Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.
Khaled Sawan, 15, a Syrian refugee from Moadamiyeh, outside Damascus, speaks during an interview in his family's home in Amman, Jordan on Sat. Jan. 28, 2017. Sawan and his family took their first step toward resettlement in the United States three months ago, submitting to an initial round of security screenings. His dreams of a better life were crushed when President Donald Trump issued an indefinite ban on displaced Syrians entering the United States. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
The Sawan family from Moadamiyeh, outside Damascus talk in front of a gas heater in their home in Amman, Jordan on Sat. Jan. 28, 2017, the day the family learned they won't be headed to the U.S. after American President Donald Trump's executive order to indefinitely halt all Syrian refugee immigrations. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
A Syrian woman stands in the entrance to her tent, as she looks out at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, President Donald Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
A Syrian woman carries a water bucket on her head, as she walks through the snow at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, President Donald Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
A Syrian girl looks out as she stands at the entrance of her parents tent, at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, President Donald Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
A Syrian baby sits in the snow outside his parents tent, at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
A Syrian boy plays in the snow, at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
A Syrian woman gestures through a plastic cover of her tent window, at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
Syrian children play in the snow, at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
Syrian children play in the snow, at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
Syrian kids and their grandmother gather around a stove to keep warm from the cold weather, at an informal refugee camp in the eastern Lebanese town of Marj near the border with Syria, Lebanon, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. In an executive order Friday, Trump suspended all refugee admissions to the U.S. for four months and banned the entry of Syrian refugees indefinitely, pending a security review of the admissions program. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The Associated Press
Nasser Sheik, 44, left, bedridden after a stroke, talks to his wife Mayada, daughter Malak and son Hassan on Sat. Jan, 28, 2017 in the family apartment in the Thraa al-Gharbi neighborhood in Amman, Jordan, about the decision of President Donald Trump's to halt U.S. refugee resettlement programs. While expected, the ban worries many Syrian refugees scattered throughout the Middle East and Europe who have fond themselves with more questions than answers as to what their future holds. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
Nasser Sheik, 44, lies bedridden after a stroke, in the family apartment in the Thraa al-Gharbi neighborhood in Amman, Jordan, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. The six-member Sheik family fears U.S. President Donald Trump's halting of the nation's refugee program leaves them with few options after fleeing Syria, scraping by in Jordan, and dreaming of a better life outside of civil strife and poverty. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
Malak Sheik, 8, smiles next to her brother Hassan, 5, in their family home next to their father Nasser, recuperating from a stroke. The six-member Sheik family fears U.S. President Donald Trump's halting of the nation's refugee program leaves them with few options after fleeing Syria, scraping by in Jordan, and dreaming of a better life outside of civil strife and poverty. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
Hassan Sheik, 5, centre, and his sister Malak, 8, sit in their family home next to their father Nasser, recuperating from a stroke. The six-member Sheik family fears U.S. President Donald Trump's halting of the nation's refugee program leaves them with few options after fleeing Syria, scraping by in Jordan, and dreaming of a better life outside of civil strife and poverty. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
Mayada Sheik, 37, speaks during an interview about her family's reaction to President Donald Trump's abrupt halt of U.S. refugee resettlement programs. Mayada is the sole caretaker of her husband Nasser, bedridden from a stroke, and breadwinner in Jordan for herself, him and four children. While expected, the ban worries many Syrian refugees scattered throughout the Middle East and Europe who have fond themselves with more questions than answers as to what their future holds. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
A vendor sells produce from a truck in the Thraa al-Gharbi neighborhood in Amman, Jordan on Sat. Jan. 28, 2017. The neighborhood is popular with Syrian refugees who are reeling from the decision of U.S. President Trump's to indefinitely halt all Syrian refugee immigrations. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press
Ammar Sawan, 40, center, looks at the youngest of his four children, Sham, 1, in Amman, Jordan on Sat. Jan. 28, 2017. The family took their first step toward resettlement in the United States three months ago, submitting to an initial round of security screenings. His dreams of a better life were crushed when President Donald Trump issued an indefinite ban on displaced Syrians entering the United States. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)
The Associated Press