Iraq to be out of ‘sinful 7’ list

Trump’s new immigration order to include 6 nations following pressure from Pentagon

Washington, March 1: President Donald Trump’s new immigration order will remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citisens face a temporary US travel ban, US officials have said, citing the latest draft in circulation.

Mr Trump is expected to sign the executive order in the coming days. Four officials said the decision followed pressure from the Pentagon and state department, which had urged the White House to reconsider Iraq’s inclusion given its key role in fighting the Islamic State.

Citizens of six other predominantly Muslim countries Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen will remain on the travel ban list, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to discuss the order before it is signed. Those bans are effective for 90 days. The new order includes other changes as well. The officials said the 12-page document no longer singles out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban and instead includes them as part of a general, 120-day suspension of new refugee admissions. The officials also said the order won’t include any explicit exemption for religious minorities in the countries targeted by the travel ban. Critics had accused the administration of adding such language to help Christians get into the US while excluding Muslims.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Mr Trump signed his original executive order in late January. It sparked immediate confusion, panic and outrage as some travelers were detained in US airports before being sent back overseas and others were barred from boarding flights at foreign airports.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump during his address to address to the Congress pledged a “renewal of the American spirit”, as he fleshed out his America-first agenda.

Transposing hardline campaign promises into a presidential key, Mr Trump offered the most restrained and detailed explanation yet of his America-first world view. And although the 70-year-old again promised a hard line on illegal immigration, he outlined his policies in lessin flammatory economic terms, winning sustained applause from the Republican-dominated Congress.