The new order drops Sudan from the list – administration officials said it was cooperating with both monitoring security and sharing information with the USA government – but adds three new countries: Chad, North Korea and Venezuela.
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Today’s order indicated that the US government “has improved its capability and ability to assess whether foreign nationals attempting to enter the United States pose a security or safety threat”. He later said he would focus on “territories” and now says the policy doesn’t target a particular religion.
The new travel ban has no stated end date and is indefinite.
Trump made the decision based on the “new baseline requirement” developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other agencies in accordance with Executive Order 13780.
In a fact sheet accompanying Trump’s proclamation, the White House said that while Iraq also falls short of the required criteria, the country was not included in the new restrictions because of the close cooperative relationship between the United States and their part in fighting so-called Islamic State. Homeland Security officials recommend replacing it with what they call more targeted travel restrictions.
The countries affected by the initial ban are Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, which are predominantly occupied by Muslims.
“Some of the countries with remaining inadequacies face significant challenges”.
In a bid to make America safe again, the United States has brought Venezuela, North Korea, and Chad under Trump’s controversial travel ban.
Where and when the next legal showdown will take place isn’t clear. SCOTUS has already allowed Trump to bar most refugees from entering the USA, and the justices will make a ruling on this newest version on October 10. Some of the travel ban’s critics see that as progress, others aren’t so sure, as NPR’s Joel Rose reports. A federal judge in Washington state issued a stay that was upheld by an appeals court. The ban sparked protests across the world, and lawsuits were filed against the ruling in the USA, with judges putting a temporary stay on the ban.
North Korea hasn’t reacted yet to newly announced U.S.travel restrictions, but they are largely a symbolic measure for the North Asian country already under severe sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program.
The justices were already grappling with questions about whether the case before them would be legally moot before they could rule.
Individuals with that “bona fide” exception, such as a foreign grandparent of a USA citizen, can still apply for visas until October 18.
This is the third set of travel restrictions issued by the president.
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“Nationals of Venezuela who are [US] visa holders should be subject to appropriate additional measures to ensure traveler information remains current”, the document said.
