One day after it was revealed that President Trump had a fiery phone call with his Australian counterpart over a refugee deal agreed upon under President Obama, U.S. immigration officials have postponed interviews with asylum seekers from one of the camps, Reuters reported. Amnesty International/Handout via REUTERS

Reuters reported on Friday that U.S. officials had pulled planned second-round interviews with detainees in an Australian camp on the Pacific island of Nauru, suggesting Washington is already blocking progress on a controversial refugee resettlement deal. Asylum seekers on Nauru who are applying to settle in the United States under the refugee swap deal, agreed in the final months of Barack Obama's presidency late last year, told Reuters that planned second-round interview dates with visiting U.S. officials had been postponed indefinitely. Meanwhile, the State Department offered reassurance that the agreement would, in fact, stand — “out of respect for close ties to our Australian ally and friend.”

White House spokesman Sean Spicer also confirmed that Trump had agreed to honor the deal, though he said all the refugees would be subjected to “extreme vetting.”

Later, Trump told reporters that he has to “respect” actions of the previous administration, yet quickly added: “But you can also say, ‘Why are we doing this?
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says Australia will honor the agreement to accept refugees from Central America even though the U.S. has postponed interviews with asylum seekers in a camp at the Pacific island of Nauru.