Travel-ban revamp
The Trump administration’s travel ban for six majority-Muslim countries will be replaced with narrower restrictions on who can visit the US that will differ by country, the White House said Friday.
The revised restrictions, which could go into effect as early as Sunday, would specifically focus on preventing those considered security threats from entering the country.
The changes come after a 90-day review of Trump’s original policy.
Administration officials said that the Department of Homeland Security identified more than six countries that weren’t properly screening potential terrorists — raising the specter that more countries will be covered by the new policy.
US officials alerted those countries that traveling to the States could be even more severely curtailed if they didn’t beef up those standards.
It was unclear which countries could be targeted under the new restrictions or how many would be affected.
Trump called for tougher measures after the latest terror attack in London.
The original ban blocked all travel to the United States by refugees and nationals from seven countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Iraq was later taken off the banned list after improving security procedures.
Critics accuse the president of overstepping his authority and targeting Muslims, and have filed multiple lawsuits to have the ban overturned.
The case is now before the Supreme Court, which is expected to decide whether the ban passes legal muster.