Trump expands travel ban to include North Korea, Venezuela
UNITED States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has slapped new travel restrictions on citizens from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad, expanding to eight the list of countries covered by his original travel bans that have been derided by critics and challenged in court.
Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia were left on the list of affected countries in a new proclamation issued by the president on Sunday. Restrictions on citizens from Sudan were lifted.
The measures help fulfill a campaign promise Trump made to tighten U.S. immigration procedures and align with his “America First” foreign policy vision. Unlike the president’s original bans, which had time limits, this one is open-ended.
“Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet.”
“We cannot afford to continue the failed policies of the past, which present an unac- ceptable danger to our country,” the president said in a tweet shortly after the proclamation was released. “My highest obligation is to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and in issuing this new travel order, I am fulfilling that sacred obligation.”
Iraqi citizens will not be subject to travel prohibitions but will face enhanced scrutiny or vetting.
The current ban, enacted in March, was set to expire on Sunday evening. The new restrictions are slated to take effect on October 18 and resulted from a review after Trump’s original travel bans sparked international outrage and legal challenges. Unlike the first ban - which sparked chaos at airports across the country - officials said they had been working for months on the new rules, in collaboration with various agencies and in conversation with foreign governments.
The addition of North Korea and Venezuela broad- ens the restrictions from the original, mostly Muslimmajority list.
Speaking with Reuters news agency on background, government officials said the addition of North Korea and Venezuela demonstrated the measure was set on the basis of security and was not a “Muslim ban”, as detractors have argued.
“Religion, or the religious origin of individuals or nations, was not a factor,” a senior government official told reporters.
“The inclusion of those countries, Venezuela and North Korea, was about the fact that those governments are simply not compliant with our basic security requirements.”
Critics have accused the president of discriminating against Muslims in violation of constitutional guarantees of religious liberty and equal protection under the law, breaking existing U.S. immigration law and stoking religious hatred.