State officials said an estimated 17 refugees should be arriving in Colorado by Thursday under President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugees.

Seven refugees – from countries including Bhutan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Afghanistan – were scheduled to arrive in the state Monday and Tuesday, officials with the Colorado Department of Human Services told The Colorado Statesman.

Before the order was issued, state officials say they’d anticipated 55 refugees would be arriving this week.

The refugees settling in Colorado this week are among 872 refugees being processed nationwide for hardship waivers by the federal government.

“This week, we’ve been receiving State Department directives that have helped us get clarity around the particulars of the executive order,” said Kit Taintor, the Colorado state refugee coordinator.

She added that travel by refugees is always subject to change at the last minute and cautioned that the estimate of 17 refugees due to arrive this week in Colorado could change depending on factors other than the executive order.

“The executive order calls for refugees that were ready to travel, where it could cause undue hardship, that they should be considered for waivers,” said Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan at a press conference on Tuesday. “We have done that, in concert with our Department of State colleagues.”

The executive order issued Friday prompted confusion and protests across the country over the weekend. It says refugees are forbidden from entering the United States for 120 days and bans Syrian refugees indefinitely. The order also bars citizens of seven Muslim-dominated nations – Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – from entering the country for 90 days.

The decree has provoked a firestorm of controversy, drawing criticism from across the political spectrum. On Monday, Gov. John Hickenlooper called on Trump to rescind the order, and on Tuesday the state House of Representatives passed a resolution likewise demanding that the president lift the ban.

– ernest@coloradostatesman.com