03/09/2017

Trump’s New Travel Ban Takes Effect Next Week

The latest ban is designed to withstand legal scrutiny unlike its predecessor

On March, President Donald Trump issued a new executive order on travel and immigration that is designed to withstand the legal scrutiny that plagued his original travel ban in January.

The revised order, which goes into effect March 16, bans travelers from six mostly-Muslim nations from entering the U.S. for 90 days and suspends all refugee admissions for 120 days. The new ban excludes Iraq, whose government has pledged increased information sharing with the U.S. when it comes to vetting its citizens applying for a visa to travel to the U.S. The other six countries listed in the original order remain banned: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The new order also clearly exempts current visa holders and legal permanent residents of the U.S., and doesn’t include any explicit exceptions for religious minorities in the countries identified in the travel ban.

The revised order also instructs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to perform a “global, country-by-country review” of the identity and security information that every country provides to U.S. officials to support visa and immigration benefit determinations. Countries that don’t measure up to DHS standards will then have 50 days to update or improve the information they provide or they could find themselves on the banned list as well.

While the White House contends that the order is necessary to reduce the risk of terrorists entering the U.S., travel leaders are concerned that the ban will have a chilling effect on the number of people who want to visit the U.S. for business or leisure.

Earlier this week, the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) issued a statement saying, “While we understand and support the proper review and establishment of standards to prevent national security risks posed from our visa and immigration system, ASAE is hopeful that this [DHS] review – if implemented – can be conducted quickly and efficiently so that we aren’t impeding legitimate business and leisure travel to the United States unnecessarily.”

Despite the White House’s attempt to address potential legal challenges with the new travel ban, at least two states are seeking injunctions to prevent the revised order from taking effect. Earlier today, Washington state joined Hawaii in challenging the constitutionality of the new travel ban.

This article was provided to OSAE by The Power of A.