President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order that will temporarily halt entry to the United States for people from six Muslim-majority nations – Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The ban will affect those who are seeking new visas, allowing those with current visas to travel freely, according to The Associated Press.
The new order sees the exclusion of Iraq from the original list of seven Muslim-majority nations, following pressure from the Pentagon and State Department who highlighted Iraq’s key role in fighting the Islamic State group.
Speaking to the exemption of Iraq, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway told Fox & Friends that the country “is a very important ally in our fight against ISIS, but also Iraq has improved its screening and reporting procedures in consultation with this administration.”
Trump’s order also suspends admission of refugees into the US for 120 days, though refugees already formally scheduled for travel will be allowed entry.
The revised order, which is set to take effect March 16, aims to address the legal issues present within the original order, which caused confusion at airports, sparked protests in the US and internationally and was ultimately blocked by the courts.
“We cannot compromise our nation’s security by allowing visitors entry when their own governments are unable or unwilling to provide the information we need to vet them responsibly, or when those governments actively support terrorism,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said of the new order on Monday.
Trump’s original executive order sparked widespread protests the world over.
The original order, issued on January 27, faced intense criticism as many perceived the action to be a outright “Muslim Ban.”
However, Trump denies the ban targets Muslims: “To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion, this is about terror and keeping our country safe,” the president said in an earlier statement.
