Yesterday, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation—to take effect on October 18— attempting to push through his signature travel ban. With the existing ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority countries set to expire, Sunday’s order places travel limits on eight countries and is the third version of the travel ban offered by the administration. However, unlike the previous bans intended as temporary measures, the new order’s restrictions are not time-limited.
Under the new proclamation, most citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad, and North Korea will be banned from entering the United States, along with some government officials from Venezuela. Additionally, citizens of Iraq will face a higher level of scrutiny before being granted admission into the United States. Chad, North Korea, and Venezuela are new additions to the list of countries with limited travel, and Sudan has been removed from the list. Unique to the recent order is that each country will be under its own set of travel restrictions—and officials say the new limits are intended to be tough and targeted.
The new order bans almost all travel to the United States from seven countries—including most of the nations listed in the original versions of the travel ban—citing the listed country’s inability or unwillingness to cooperate in helping assuage security concerns the U.S. has over people coming from those countries. The only country without sweeping restrictions is Venezuela, where limits will only apply to a group of government officials and their families.
The administration says that the latest order will not affect legal permanent residents of the United States or visitors currently holding valid visas from the countries listed in the order, which we believe will help avoid the chaos experienced at airports across the nation following the rollout of the first travel ban.
Critics of the latest order argue that this is still a thinly disguised version of the initial travel ban that many argue was discriminatory, in that it targeted Muslims, leading many to refer to the original ban as the “Muslim ban.” As with the original travel ban, it’s expected that this latest order will be challenged in the courts over the coming days and weeks.
GoffWilson’s sole focus is immigration law, and because of this we are following the latest travel ban closely. If you have any questions about how the travel ban may affect you or an employee,
contact us today. Immigration is our passion.