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trump executive order

A new executive order placing a 90-day ban on people from six mainly Muslim nations has been signed by President Donald Trump on March 6.

Iraq, which was covered in the previous seven-nation order, has been removed from the new list after agreeing additional visa vetting measures.

The new order, which includes a 120-day ban on all refugees, takes effect on March 16 to limit travel disruption.

The previous order, which was blocked by a federal court, sparked confusion at airports and mass protests.

Citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, the other six countries on the original list, will once more be subject to a 90-day travel ban.

Iraq was taken off the banned list in the original order – which was issued on January 27 – because its government has boosted visa screening and data sharing, White House officials said.

The new directive says refugees already approved by the State Department can enter the United States; it limits the number allowed in to 50,000 for the year.

Image source Flickr

The order also lifts an indefinite ban on all Syrian refugees.

Green Card holders from the named countries will not be affected by the new order.

The new order also does not give priority to religious minorities, unlike the previous directive.

However, critics of the Trump administration had argued that was an unlawful policy showing preference to Christian refugees.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Attorney General Jeff Sessions held a joint news conference on March 6 to discuss the new directive.

Rex Tillerson the order was meant to “eliminate vulnerabilities that radical Islamic terrorists can and will exploit for destructive ends”.

Jeff Sessions said that, according to the FBI, more than 300 people who entered the US as refugees are under investigation for potential terrorism-related offences.

He said three of the countries were state sponsors of terrorism.

The other three, the top prosecutor said, had lost control of territory to militants such as ISIS or al-Qaeda.

John Kelly added that unregulated and unvetted travel was putting national security at risk.

He told reporters: “Our enemies will exploit our freedoms and generosity to harm us.”

John Kelly said the US cannot tolerate “malevolent actors using our immigration system to take American lives”.

None of the cabinet secretaries took any questions after the press conference.

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President Donald Trump is standing firm over his ban on immigration from seven countries despite court rulings and mass protests against it.

In a statement, the president said visas would once again be issued once “the most secure policies” were in place, and denied it was a Muslim ban.

The move has been widely condemned.

Meanwhile, 16 state attorneys general have said the order is unconstitutional. Several federal judges have temporarily halted the deportation of visa holders.

Donald Trump’s executive order, signed on January 27, halted the entire US refugee program for 120 days, indefinitely banned Syrian refugees, and suspended all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Those who were already mid-flight were detained on arrival – even if they held valid US visas or other immigration permits. It is not known how many others were turned away at airports overseas as they tried to board flights to the US.

Thousands gathered at airports around the country to protest on January 28, including lawyers who offered their services for free to those affected.

Image source Flickr

Further demonstrations were held on January 29, including protests outside the White House and Trump Tower in New York.

As well as the ban on all refugees, travelers who have nationality or dual nationality of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are not permitted to enter the United States for 90 days, or be issued an immigrant or non-immigrant visa.

This includes those who share dual nationality with allied countries, although Canada has been told its dual nationals are not affected.

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said US green-card holders – legal residents – would also not be affected, but some have been detained since the order came into effect.

President Trump tweeted early on January 29 that the US needed “extreme vetting, NOW” but later, in a statement, tried to offer more reassuring words, saying: “This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe.

“We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days.”

Reince Priebus rejected criticism that the implementation of the order had been chaotic, and said only 109 people, out of 325,000 travelling, had been detained and “most of those people were moved out”.

He told reporters on January 29: “We’ve got a couple of dozen more that remain and I would suspect that as long as they’re not awful people that they will move through before another half a day today.”

However, they have failed to allay concern among some in their Republican party. Senator John McCain said the order would “probably, in some areas, give ISIS some more propaganda”, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was important to remember that “some of our best sources in the war against radical Islamic terrorism are Muslims”.

Democratic Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer said the US now appeared “less humanitarian, less safe, less American” and said the Democrats would introduce legislation to overturn it.

In a joint statement, 16 attorneys general, from states including California, New York and Pennsylvania, said they would “use all of the tools of our offices to fight this unconstitutional order” and, until it was struck down, would “work to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created”.

Yesterday, federal Judge Ann Donnelly, in New York, ruled against the removal from the US of people with approved refugee applications, valid visas, and “other individuals… legally authorized to enter the United States”.