Vol. 81/No. 37 October 9, 2017
White House moves to impose new
immigration restrictions
Three nations are new to the list of those banned or requiring “enhanced vetting” — Chad, North Korea and Venezuela. Sudan, whose citizens were previously banned, has been removed from the list. The Venezuelan ban is directed solely at government officials.
President Trump first tried to implement a ban on immigration and travel from seven Muslim-majority countries in January, revoking 60,000 visas already issued and detaining more than 100 permanent U.S. residents at airports in the U.S. After widespread protests and court challenges, the visas were reinstated and many of those detained were allowed to enter the country.
After court injunctions put much of the first ban on hold, Trump issued a second executive order. The March 6 order was called “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry.” It imposed a 90-day moratorium on the entry of citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Iraq — an ally of both Washington and Tehran in the Middle East wars — had been on the previous list, but was exempted because the White House said it had “improved” its vetting.
In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the revised March order was legal, but imposed some limits while legal challenges worked their way through the courts. The court said that anyone with a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States” could not be denied entry.
The new ban replaces the 90-day moratorium, which expired Sept. 24. The Supreme Court cancelled a hearing on the previous ban, asking both sides to submit briefs on whether the new order means the lawsuit is moot.
Hoping to prevent or overcome any legal challenges that argue the moves are aimed at Muslims, the U.S. administration this time says that the restrictions are based on objective criteria, including whether governments issue electronic passports with biometric information to prevent fraud and agree to work with Washington to report “serious criminals and known or suspected terrorists, as well as share identity-related information.” The White House says the countries under review were given 50 days to comply.
The new restrictions vary from country to country. Immigrant, business and tourist visas are blocked for people from Chad, Libya and Yemen. Somalis are allowed in temporarily as tourists, but not allowed to immigrate. Iranians can come as students but like Somalis are subject to “enhanced screening.” While any applicant for entry can apply for an individual exception, the order denies entry to all refugees from war-torn Syria.
No one believes that the restrictions against Venezuela and North Korea have anything to do with the White House’s claim that the measures are aimed at keeping out “terrorists.” They are politically motivated, another tactic to pressure their governments to give in to U.S. dictates.
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