President Trump took a second swing at his temporary travel ban Monday, this time targeting travelers from six majority Muslim countries and crafting his executive order in ways intended to survive challenges in U.S. courts.
The new ban, which goes into effect March 16, no longer restricts travel from Iraq, one of seven listed in the original order. The 90-day ban now is limited to Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen.
As before, the order shuts down the U.S. refugee program for 120 days to give the federal government time to develop “extreme vetting” procedures to prevent terrorists from entering the country. However, Syrians are no longer subject to an indefinite ban, as they were under the first order.
The White House spent weeks drafting the revised ban, coordinating with the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security to avoid the chaos that followed the Jan. 27 order. That one took immediate effect, snarling travel for thousands of people around the world and at U.S. airports. This time, the order takes effect 10 days after Trump signs it at the White House.
“The U.S. Government must ensure that those entering this country will not harm the American people after entering, and that they do not bear malicious intent toward the United States and its people,” Homeland Security said in a statement. “This Executive Order ensures that we have a functional immigration system that safeguards our national security.”
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SOURCE: USA Today, Alan Gomez
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