President Donald Trump signed a new version of his controversial travel ban Monday, hoping to withstand further legal challenges while still imposing a 90-day ban on those from six Muslim-majority countries and capping the U.S. refugee program at 50,000 for 2017.
The revised order removes Iraq from the list of banned countries but still affects those from Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Libya.
It does not apply to those who already have valid visas or anyone with U.S. green cards.
(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly appeared at a news conference to announce the revised order and still referring to it as a security measure against terrorism.
The initial ban caused immediate panic and confusion at airports across the country and quickly became the subject of several legal challenges before being placed on hold last month by a judge in Washington State and then upheld by a federal Appeals Court.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it’ll respond to the new order either by amending existing lawsuits or by seeking a new injunction.