New travel ban may exclude Iraq
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is expected to issue on Monday a new version of his executive order on immigration that excludes Iraq, a key ally in the fight against the Islamic State, from a list of predominantly Muslim countries whose citizens will face temporary restrictions on travel to the United States.
The new order would temporarily stop all refugee admissions to the U.S., said a senior administration official familiar with it. The previous version included a 120-day ban on all refugees other than Syrians, who were barred indefinitely.
The new order removes the extra restrictions on Syrian refugees. It is unclear how long the temporary ban would last.
The earlier order has been blocked by the courts; the change on refugees is intended to help the new version withstand legal scrutiny. The new order would not affect people with green cards or those holding a valid visa at the time the order is signed.
Trump and immigration hard-liners in the administration are expected to assert that the new version is no less strict because it retains a temporary ban on refugees.
The senior administration official said Iraq had been removed from the travel ban after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had discussions with the Iraqi government about its vetting processes.
Some U.S. officials had expressed concern that the restrictions would have affected Iraqis who had worked with the U.S. military as interpreters or in other roles and sought to come to the U.S.
The official said the executive order is expected to be signed on Monday.
Trump’s previous order — which temporarily barred visitors from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen — set off chaos and confusion at airports around the world.
The new order retains a temporary travel ban on the six countries other than Iraq.
Trump administration officials defended the previous restrictions, saying they were needed because the countries listed did not have vetting systems in place that could guarantee that immigrants and other travelers from those nations did not pose a threat to the U.S.