As expected, US President Donald Trump yesterday authorised a new executive order which effectively prohibits visitors from six predominantly mainly Muslim countries from entering the United States – from the 16 March date of implementation.

 

The six countries are: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In addition, this new order replaces its predecessor which sparked protests at several leading US airports before it was successfully challenged and dismissed by a US federal court.

 

A major difference between this order and its unsuccessful predecesor is that this ‘new version’ now excludes the ban on visitors from Iraq. The Trump admnistration says this is due to changes in visa qualification procedures that are said to be more stringent than before.

 

LEGISLATION WILL STILL FACE OPPOSITION
Having said this, the new executive order is said to be a watered-down version of the previous version with the short delay in implementing apparently designed to allow those en-route – or with confirmed travel plans – to make their journeys without controversy.

The hope is that this will avoid the mayhem that surrounded the immediate days after the previous order was introduced – which caused chaos at US airports.

 

However, several groups have already vowed to use the legal system to block this new executive order, arguing that it still discriminates against Muslims.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly told a White House press briefing yesterday that the new order is aimed at stopping ‘enemies’ who he says ‘will exploit our freedoms and generosity to harm us’.

 

RIGOROUS REVIEW OF VISA PROGRAMME IS PLANNED
In a statement, he said: “The Executive Order signed today by President Trump will make America safer, and address long-overdue concerns about the security of our immigration system.

 

“We must undertake a rigorous review of our visa and refugee vetting programmes to increase our confidence in the entry decisions we make for visitors and immigrants to the United States. We cannot risk the prospect of malevolent actors using our immigration system to take American lives.

 

“The Executive Order signed today is prospective in nature – applying only to foreign nationals outside of the United States who do not have a valid visa. It is important to note that nothing in this executive order affects current lawful permanent residents or persons with current authorization to enter our country.

 

 

“If you have a current valid visa to travel, we welcome you. But unregulated, unvetted travel is not a universal privilege, especially when national security is at stake.
“The Department of Homeland Security has worked closely with the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and the White House to create an executive order that addresses our information concerns while protecting the homeland and our citizens.”