Trump Signs New Travel Ban With Expanded Restrictions

By Eleanor Sheehan | September 25, 2017 | 1:29am

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President Trump signed yet another version of his travel ban on Sunday evening after his plans to do so were reported by The New York Times last week. In addition to barring travel from Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, and Libya, countries that the first iteration of Trump’s heavily revised ban already listed, the new executive order also includes North Korea, Venezuela, and Chad.

Restrictions in Trump’s new rules vary slightly by country — and they are indefinite. Travel from Syria, Libya, and North Korea is broadly banned, while government officials and their families are the only people banned from Venezuela. Students from Iran are also exempt from the new ban. The new rules were announced as Trump’s first attempt at a 90-day travel ban expired earlier on Sunday.

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That ban prevented individuals from six majority-Muslim countries from entering the country, unless they could prove they had a family member who is a current U.S. resident. A Supreme Court decision forced the Trump administration to make exceptions for “bona fide” relationships, but there were originally no exemptions. Individuals affected by the first iteration of Trump’s ban with family members or business in the U.S. can apply for visas until Oct. 18, when the new restrictions go into effect.

According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration has been working on this new set of rules for months — perhaps because the first version precipitated mass chaos and a series of legal losses. The new ban, Homeland Security counselor Miles Taylor said, is “tough” and “tailored.” The new ban were introduced after Homeland Security reviewed some 200 countries’ security measures for travel — countries that failed to meet Homeland Security’s standards were recommended for travel restrictions.

Refugees are not mentioned in the new executive order, but officials told The Times that those rules would be announced in the next few days.

It’s unclear how the new executive order will effect the Supreme Court’s review of Trump’s previous ban — arguments in that case are scheduled for the beginning of October.