U. S. President Donald Trump issued a revised executive order Monday on “protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry.” The order, effective March 16, revokes and replaces a previous travel ban barring entry to people coming from seven Middle Eastern nations.
The new order defends the old one, saying, “That order was not motivated by animus toward any religion, but was instead intended to protect the ability of religious minorities – whoever they are and wherever they reside – to avail themselves of the USRAP (U. S. Refugee Admissions Program) in light of their particular challenges and circumstances.” Critics called the previous order illegal and discriminatory and court orders put a halt to enforcement.
Trump says in the new order that “the significant presence in each of these countries of terrorist organizations, their members, and others exposed to those organizations increases the chance that conditions will be exploited to enable terrorist operatives or sympathizers to travel to the United States.”
The new order details what Trump explains as justifications for each of the six affected nations – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – being included in the new order. Entries from each of those countries is suspended for 90 days with some exceptions. No immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued prior to the effective date of the order will be revoked by the order, it says. Iraq, which was subject to the previous order, is not included in the new ban.
Trump’s order says “the close cooperative relationship between the United States and the democratically elected Iraqi government, the strong United States diplomatic presence in Iraq, the significant presence of United States forces in Iraq, and Iraq’s commitment to combat ISIS justify different treatment for Iraq.” One provision of the new order calls for expediting “the completion and implementation of a biometric entry-exit tracking system for in-scope travelers to the United States.”
The entire order is available online at whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/06/executiveorder-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-states. For reaction from Montana Sen. Steve Daines, see page 11..
