Trump issues new travel ban

PresidentDonald Trump has issued a new open-ended travel ban that saw NorthKorea, Venezuela and Chad among a list of eight countries cited for poorsecurity and lack of co-operation with US authorities.The newrestrictions replace an expiring 90-day measure that had locked Trump inpolitical and legal battles since he took office in January over whatcritics alleged was an effort to block Muslims from the country.But the White House stressed that the measure was to protect the United States from terror attacks.“Weare taking action today to protect the safety and security of theAmerican people by establishing a minimum security baseline for entryinto the United States,” Trump said in a statement. “We cannot afford tocontinue the failed policies of the past, which present an unacceptabledanger to our country.”“My highest obligation is to ensure thesafety and security of the American people, and in issuing this newtravel order, I am fulfilling that sacred obligation,” he added.Sudan, one of the six majority-Muslim countries on the original travel ban, was removed from the list.TheUS has recently praised Sudan’s efforts in fighting terrorism ahead of adecision expected in October on whether to lift decades-old sanctionson Khartoum.Full bans were newly placed on nationals from NorthKorea and Chad, and extended for five countries on the original list:Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.Limited restrictionsmeanwhile were placed on Venezuela, for officials from governmentagencies including interior and foreign ministries, the main police andintelligence services, and other agencies.Trump’s order said Caracas was not co-operating on security issues.Officialsspeaking on background stressed that the decision was taken after anextensive review of high-risk countries by the Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS), which were all given the opportunity to improve theirsecurity standards.The DHS report also said that Iraq did not meet its baseline security requirements.Butbecause Baghdad is a close ally and supports the presence of largenumbers of US troops and civilians, officials said, the White Houseopted not to place Iraq on the list.However, US-bound travellers there will face much tougher vetting.“Ifyou can’t screen people effectively to know who’s coming into yourcountry, then you shouldn’t allow people from that country to travel,”said White House National Security Adviser HR McMaster.Trumpadministration officials stressed that the restrictions are“conditions-based, not time-based”, indicating that significantimprovements by countries could see them delisted from the travel ban.Theofficials also pointed out that the addition of North Korea andVenezuela demonstrated that the measure was based on security standardsand was not a “Muslim ban”, as detractors have argued.Thataccusation was accepted by federal appeals courts in lawsuits thatblocked the first efforts by Trump to set the ban, in January and March.Theban, which also included a broader, 120-day ban on refugees thatexpires next month, will be argued in the Supreme Court on October 10.“Religion,or the religious origin of individuals or nations, was not a factor,” asenior government official told reporters. “The inclusion of thosecountries, Venezuela and North Korea, was about the fact that thosegovernments are simply not compliant with our basic securityrequirements.”But Becca Heller, director of the InternationalRefugee Assistance Project, said that of the three countries added,“Chad is majority Muslim, travel from North Korea is already basicallyfrozen, and the restrictions on Venezuela only affect governmentofficials on certain visas. You can’t get any more transparent thanthat.”On the decision to remove Sudan, Heller said: “Last week, thegovernment ended Temporary Protected Status for Sudan, suggesting thatthe government of Sudan was pressured into agreeing to accept massivenumbers of deported Sudanese nationals from the US in exchange for beingdropped from the travel ban.”“President Trump’s original sin oftargeting Muslims cannot be cured by throwing other countries onto hisenemies list,” added Anthony Romero of the American Civil LibertiesUnion (ACLU).North Korea, locked in a dangerous face-off withWashington over its nuclear weapons programme, was added, the ordersaid, because Pyongyang “does not co-operate with the United Statesgovernment in any respect”.Chad was added to the list even though Trump’s order called it “an important and valuable counterterrorism partner”.Itpointed to the presence in the northern African country of designatedterror groups like the so-called Islamic State, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram,and said the government does not adequately share security andterrorism-related information.The bans for the five countries fromthe previous 90-day order, which expired on Sunday, would immediatelycontinue under the new order.For North Korea, Chad, and Venezuela, the restrictions will be implemented, starting on October 18.