Trump signs new travel ban order, Iraq spared

Order comes into effect on March 16; Baghdad expresses ‘deep relief’

PRESIDENT DONALD Trump signed a revised executive order for a US travel ban Monday, leaving Iraq off the list of targeted countries, senior administration officials said. The new order, which the White House said Trump had signed, will keep a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of six Muslim-majority nations — Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, the officials said.

Iraq expressed “deep relief” at the decision, the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement Monday. “The decision is an important step in the right direction, it consolidates the strategic alliance between Baghdad and Washington in many fields, and at their forefront war on terrorism,” the statement said.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders had said earlier on Monday that the new order would take effect on March 16. The new directive delays implementation to limit the disruption that created havoc for some travelers when Trump issued his original order.

Trump’s secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, told reporters Monday, “As threats to our security continue to evolve and change, common sense dictates that we continually re-evaluate and reassess the systems we rely upon to protect our country.”

Iraq was taken off the list in the original order, which was issued on January 27, because the Iraqi government has imposed new vetting procedures, such as heightened visa screening and data sharing, and because of its work with the United States in countering Islamic State militants, a senior White House official said.

“There’s going to be a very orderly process,” a senior official from the Department of Homeland Security said. “You should not see any chaos so to speak, or alleged chaos at airports. There aren’t going to be folks stopped tonight from coming into the country because of this executive order.”

Thousands of Iraqis have fought alongside US troops for years or worked as translators since the Us-led invasion in 2003.The White House official said the new executive order also ensures that tens of thousands of legal permanent residents in the United States — or green card holders — from the listed countries would not be affected by the travel ban.

Refugees who are “in transit” and already have been approved would be able to travel to the United States.

Refugees from Syria were to be banned indefinitely but under the new order they are not given separate treatment. REUTERS

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Reuters President Donald Trump after signing the revised travel ban order, Monday.