President Donald Trump has signed a new
executive order placing a 90-day ban on people
from six mainly Muslim nations.

Iraq - which was covered in the previous seven-
nation order - has been removed from the new
one after agreeing additional visa vetting
measures.

The directive, which includes a 120-day ban on
all refugees, takes effect on 16 March.
The previous order, which was blocked by a
federal court, sparked confusion at airports and
mass protests.

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What is different about the new order?

Citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and
Yemen, the other six countries on the original 27
January order, will once more be subject to a 90-
day travel ban.
Iraq has been taken off the banned list because
its government has boosted visa screening and
data sharing, White House officials said.

The new directive says refugees already approved
by the State Department can enter the US. It also
lifts an indefinite ban on all Syrian refugees.
Green Card holders (legal permanent residents of
the US) from the named countries will not be
affected.

The new order does not give priority to religious
minorities, unlike the previous directive.
Critics of the Trump administration had argued
that this was an unlawful policy showing
preference to Christian refugees.

What does the administration say?

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General
Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary
John Kelly held a joint news conference on
Monday morning to discuss the new directive.
America's top US diplomat said the order was
meant to "eliminate vulnerabilities that radical
Islamic terrorists can and will exploit for
destructive ends".
Mr Sessions said that, according to the FBI, more
than 300 people who entered the US as refugees
are under investigation for potential terrorism-
related offences.

The top US prosecutor said three of the countries
were state sponsors of terrorism.
The other three, Mr Sessions said, had lost
control of territory to militants such as the
Islamic State group or al-Qaeda.
Mr Kelly added that unregulated and unvetted
travel was putting national security at risk.
He said the US cannot tolerate "malevolent actors
using our immigration system to take American
lives".
None of the cabinet secretaries took any
questions after the press conference.

Analysis - Anthony Zurcher, BBC News,
Washington

Donald Trump has, at last, unveiled his new
immigration order, and it looks like government
lawyers - and not just White House political
operatives like Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller -
have had their input.
Gone are the most controversial measures of the
old order, such as preference for Christian
refugees and the suspension of existing visas and
green cards.
The details of the action's implementation are
outlined with greater clarity this time, with more
than a week before the new rules kick in.
It's still an open question as to what, if anything,
this order will do to prevent violent attacks on US
soil, given that past high-profile incidents have
not involved individuals from any of the six
named countries.
Mr Trump had promised bold action on border
security, however - the kind of move that would
unnerve traditional politicians and anger civil
liberties advocates.

Given the early reaction from groups like the
ACLU and Democratic leaders, the story is
unfolding as expected.
Although Mr Trump's campaign-rally talk of
sweeping Muslim bans are a thing of the past, his
supporters will likely revel in the uproar and
consider this latest move a campaign promise
kept.

Why the delayed implementation?

The new order is set to take effect on 16 March.
White House officials hope the 10 days' notice
will help to avoid some of the chaotic scenes at
US airports that occurred on 27 January when
the first executive order was announced without
warning.
Travellers with valid visas who were in the air at
the time found themselves detained by border
officials on arrival.
Mr Trump had defended the lack of notice,
tweeting that "if the ban were announced with a
one week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our
country during that week".

Will the new executive order face legal
challenges?

Yes. New York Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman - the state's highest ranking law
enforcement officer - issued a statement on
Monday saying his office is ready to take the
Trump administration to court.
"While the White House may have made changes
to the ban, the intent to discriminate against
Muslims remains clear," he said.
"My office is closely reviewing the new executive
order, and I stand ready to litigate - again - in
order to protect New York's families, institutions,
and economy."

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC), an Arab-American grassroots
civil rights organisation, immediately called for
donations to fight impending legal battles ahead.
"The ban is about xenophobia and Islamophobia,"
the group said in a statement to the BBC






From BBC.com