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”.
President Donald Trump is considering a new executive order to ban citizens of certain countries from traveling to the US after his initial attempt was overturned in the courts.
He told reporters on Air Force One that a “brand new order” could be issued as early as February 13 or 14.
The president made the announcement after an appeals court in San Francisco upheld a court ruling to suspend his original order.
The executive order barred entry from citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries.
It is unclear what a new US immigration order might look like.
Donald Trump said that it would change “very little”, but he did not provide details of any new ban under consideration.
Image source Getty Images
Despite his suggestion on February 10, President Trump’s administration may still pursue its case in the courts over the original order, which was halted a week ago by a Seattle judge.
“We’ll win that battle,” he told reporters.
Donald Trump added: “The unfortunate part is it takes time. We’ll win that battle. But we also have a lot of other options, including just filing a brand new order.”
An unnamed judge from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which on February 9 upheld the stay on the original order, has called on all 25 judges of that court to vote on whether to hear the appeal again.
Technically known as an en banc review, a second hearing of the case would involve an 11-judge panel, rather than the three who initially heard the appeal.
Donald Trump’s travel ban, which was hastily unveiled at the end of his first week in office, caused chaos at US airports and sparked protests across the country.
On February 9, the appeals court said the administration failed to offer “any evidence” to justify the ban, which the president said was necessary to keep the US safe from terror attacks.
However, Donald Trump insisted that the executive order was crucial for national security and promised to take action “very rapidly” to introduce “additional security” steps in the wake of the court’s decision.
The president spoke as Virginia state lawyers argued in court that his policy “resulted from animus toward Muslims”.
Their challenge focuses on the travel restrictions imposed by the ban, rather than the four-month suspension of refugee admissions.
Lawyers for the US government in Virginia wrote that “judicial second-guessing” amounted to “an impermissible intrusion” on Donald Trump’s constitutional authority.
The appeals court ruling means that visa holders from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen can continue to enter the US, and refugees from around the world, who were also subject to a temporary ban, are no longer blocked either.
However, the ruling does not affect one part of Donald Trump’s controversial executive order: a cap of 50,000 refugees to be admitted in the current fiscal year, down from the ceiling of 110,000 established under President Barack Obama.
The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a bid to reinstate President Donald Trump’s controversial immigration ban.
The court said it would not block a lower-court ruling that brought President Trump’s executive order to a halt.
Donald Trump made the order temporarily banning people from seven mainly Muslim countries, because of terror threats he said put national security at risk.
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However, the executive order sparked protests and confusion as people were stopped at US borders.
Lawyers representing the DoJ had argued that the ban was a “lawful exercise” of presidential authority.
However, two US states said the ban was unconstitutional and discriminated against Muslims.
The case is now likely to end up at the highest court, the Supreme Court.
Thirty more tech companies have signed a brief opposing President Donald Trump’s travel ban, bringing the total number involved to 127.
Tesla, Adobe, HP and Evernote are among the new signatories.
They join 97 other companies which have filed a legal document stating the ban “inflicts significant harm” on their businesses and is unconstitutional.
The amicus brief allows parties not directly involved in a case but who feel affected by it, to give a view.
It was filed in Washington on February 5 and also includes Apple, Facebook and Microsoft as signatories.
Amazon is not part of the amicus brief but it is a witness in the original lawsuit brought by the Washington state Attorney General.
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President Trump’s executive order halted the entire US refugee program for 120 days, indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and suspended permission to enter the US for all nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries.
There is currently a nationwide temporary restraining order in place, which was issued on February 3 by a federal judge in Washington.
This means visa holders from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be allowed to enter the US until the full case has been heard.
However, Donald Trump has said he will fight the order as it puts national security at risk.
The tech group’s brief reads: “Of course, the federal government can and should implement targeted, appropriate adjustments to the nation’s immigration system to enhance the nation’s security.
“But a broad, open-ended ban – together with an indication that the ban could be expanded to other countries without notice – does not fit the goal of making the country more secure. Instead, it will undermine American interests.”
The DoJ has defended President Donald Trump’s immigration ban and urged an appeals court to reinstate it in the interests of national security.
In a 15-page brief it argued it was a “lawful exercise of the president’s authority” and not a ban on Muslims.
President Trump’s executive order temporarily banned entry for all refugees and visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries.
A hearing has been set for today on whether to allow or reject the ban.
The filing was made to the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in response to the halting of Donald Trump’s order on February 3 by a federal judge in Washington state.
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The judge had ruled the ban was unconstitutional and harmful to the state’s interests.
As a result, people from the seven countries – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen – with valid visas were able to travel to the US again.
The brief filed on February 6 said the Washington court had “erred in entering an injunction barring enforcement of the order”.
“But even if some relief were appropriate, the court’s sweeping nationwide injunction is vastly overbroad,” the DoJ added.
President Trump’s executive order issued on January 25 fulfilled his campaign promise to tighten restrictions on arrivals to the US.
It caused confusion at US and foreign airports when it came into force, and was widely condemned, although polls suggest that US public opinion is sharply divided on the policy.
The states of Washington and Minnesota have argued that as well as being unconstitutional, the travel ban is harmful to their residents, businesses and universities.
Attorneys general in 16 states have signed a letter condemning the ban, and lawsuits have been launched in 14 states.
Former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright and former CIA director Leon Panetta have joined others in drafting a letter which describes the travel ban as ineffective, dangerous and counterproductive.
Lawyers for tech giants including Apple and Google have also lodged arguments with the court, saying that the travel ban would harm their companies by making it more difficult to recruit employees.
The Trump administration’s request to reinstate a travel ban blocked by a federal judge on February 3 has been rejected by the US federal appeals court.
The late night ruling means the travel ban will remain suspended until the full case has been heard.
The court gave the White House and the states challenging it a deadline of February 6 to present more arguments.
Two states argued that the travel ban, affecting people from seven mainly-Muslim countries, was unconstitutional.
In its appeal, the DoJ said Judge James Robart had overreached by “second guessing” the president on a national security matter.
The DoJ also argued that only the president could decide who can enter or stay in the US.
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In February 3 case, the DoJ had argued that states did not have the authority to challenge a presidential executive order.
Lawyers for the states of Washington and Minnesota had argued that the ban was unconstitutional because it denied people with valid entry documents the right to travel without due process.
The executive order also violated freedom of religion rights by appearing to target Muslims, they said.
Iraq, one of the countries named in the ban, has praised the revocation of the travel ban as a “move in the right direction”, Reuters reported.
Iran has also responded to Judge James Robart’s ruling by saying it would allow a US wrestling team to compete in a World Cup event it is hosting later this month.
The American wrestlers were initially denied visas after Iran said it would ban US citizens in retaliation for President Trump’s order.
However, Donald Trump has called Judge James Robart’s ruling “ridiculous”, described him as a “so-called judge” and vowed to restore the ban.
Judge James Robart has served on the federal bench since 2004 after nomination by President George W. Bush.
February 3 ruling has also seen visa holders from the affected nations scramble to get flights to the US, fearing they have a slim window to enter.
The State Department has been reversing visa cancellations and US homeland security employees have been told by their department to comply with the ruling.
Customs officials told airlines that they could resume boarding banned travelers. Qatar Airways, Air France, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa and others said they would do so.
The ban caused confusion at US and foreign airports when it came into force.
It envisages a 90-day visa suspension for anyone arriving from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The executive order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days, and places an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees.
The DoJ has filed a court motion against the suspension of President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from seven mainly Muslim nations.
The move seeks to reverse February 3 ruling by a federal judge in Washington.
Visa holders from the affected nations have been scrambling to get flights to the United States, fearing they have a slim window to enter America.
Donald Trump’s ban last week led to mass protests and confusion at US airports.
Some 60,000 visas have been revoked since President Trump’s executive order was issued.
However, Judge James Robart’s temporary restraining order halted it nationwide with immediate effect.
Judge Robart found that legal challenges launched by two states, Washington and Minnesota, were likely to succeed.
State lawyers had argued that the ban was unconstitutional because it denied people with valid entry documents the right to travel without due process.
Image source Flickr
It also violated freedom of religion rights by appearing to target Muslims, they said.
Donald Trump called Judge James Robart’s ruling “ridiculous”, vowing to restore the ban.
The ban envisages a 90-day visa suspension for anyone arriving from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The executive order also suspends the US Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days, and places an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees.
The appeal against the suspension was formally filed by the Department of Justice on February 4.
Donald Trump is named as one of the appellants in his capacity as president, along with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The administration argues that the travel ban is designed to protect the US, and it is seeking an emergency stay that would restore the restrictions.
Meanwhile, President Trump took to Twitter to rage against Judge James Robart, who has served on the federal bench since 2004 after nomination by President George W. Bush.
He tweeted: “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!”
Donald Trump later added in another tweet: “What is our country coming to when a judge can halt a Homeland Security travel ban and anyone, even with bad intentions, can come into U.S.?”
He later predicted that the appeal would succeed.
“We’ll win. For the safety of the country, we’ll win,” Donald Trump told reporters.
The state department has said it is reversing visa cancelations and US homeland security employees have been told by their department to comply with the ruling.
Customs officials told airlines that they could resume boarding banned travelers. Qatar Airways, Air France, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa and others said they would do so.
Travelers from the affected countries have been trying to use the window of opportunity by boarding US-bound flights on February 4.
However, there were also reports that a number of travelers were not allowed to fly to America.
In Djibouti, east Africa, immigrants from all seven countries on the list were not allowed to fly, an immigration attorney was quoted as saying by AP.
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