Key differences in new travel ban exclude Iraq from the List Of Countries banned. Last month, a three-judge panel of US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a lower court's ruling putting Trumps's original Muslim ban on hold. The new order bans entry of those fleeing from Syria indefinitely. President Trump has also stopped the admission of all refugees to the US for four months.
After intense lobbying efforts from Iraq's government and their Prime Minister, to remove Iraq from the original seven-state ban, President Trump's new travel ban, set to go into effect on March 16, 2017, will remove Iraq from the list of countries banned.
Iraq has agreed to increase cooperation with the US as one of the conditions of being dropped from the ban.
Three major changes
For a number of majority-Muslim nations there will be three major changes to Trump's temporary travel ban:
- Syria's indefinite ban will be lifted under the new travel ban. Syrians will now be subject to the same 90-day ban on travelers and 120 days for refugees.
The original ban barred Syrians from entering the US until Trump felt that "sufficient changes" were made to the screening process.
- Green card holders will not be affected under the new law. The six countries whose nationals have legal permanent residence in the US (green card holders) will not be affected. People with valid visas are also exempt, as of Monday, March 16.
- Christians claiming persecution in mostly Muslim nations, under the new law, will not be included as there will be a preference for "religious minorities".
Ban opposition
The American Civil Liberties Union opposed the original ban, and see the same flaws in the new travel ban, saying "The only way to actually fix the Muslim ban is not to have a Muslim ban."
Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen will be detained for 90 days.
Already regarded as extremely stringent, US officials hope to improve upon the vetting process by detaining citizens of Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from obtaining visas for at least 90 days.
The executive order was signed early Monday morning by President Trump, without the presence of reports and news cameras.
