US to resume refugee entries, 11 nations barred

WASHINGTON: The United States will resume accepting refugees after a 120-day ban, but arrivals from 11 “high-risk” countries, most of them home to Muslim majorities, will still be blocked, officials announced on Tuesday.

The temporary ban, which President Donald Trump fought to implement since January and finally proceeded with in late June after a Supreme Court decision, allowed officials to review security procedures and set tougher screening procedures.

Jennifer Higgins, associate director for refugees at the citizenship and immigration services agency, said applicants will face “enhanced” vetting, including more in-depth checks of their social media presence.

“The security of the American people is our highest priority,” she told journalists in a briefing.

Trump issued a new executive order on refugees late Tuesday that replaced the expiring one, which was a part of his controversial travel ban that evoked a series of court challenges on the grounds it targeted Muslims.

The new order will accompany a sharp cutback on refugee admissions under Trump.

Former president Barack Obama set the refugee cap, for the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2017, at 110,000. But after becoming president, Trump slashed that to 53,000 even as he fought to put in place a full ban.

For fiscal year 2018, Trump has cut the maximum number to 45,000.

Officials declined to list the 11 countries, but said they are the same as on a 2015 list for tougher screening, requiring a “Security Advisory Opinion.”

They are now subject to another 90-day security and intelligence review, but the officials would not say what could happen then.

Refugee agencies pointed to the affected countries as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

All but North Korea are mainly Muslim populations.

AIRLINES GET READY FOR NEW RULES

New security measures including stricter passenger screening take effect on Thursday on all US-bound flights to comply with requirements designed to avoid an in-cabin ban on laptops, airlines said on Tuesday.

The rules affect 325,000 airline passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the United States, on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries.