Washington DC: United States President Donald Trump signed a new immigration order on Monday, banning the entry of citizens from six Muslim majority countries, notably dropping Iraq from the revised immigration order. Donald Trump’s original executive order created a lot of chaos and dissatisfaction among the masses and the order was blocked by a federal court.
According to the administration fact sheet, the new immigration order states that Iraq will “increase cooperation with the US government on the vetting of its citizens applying for a visa to travel to the United States”. However, the new executive ban still covers Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.White House adviser Kellyanne Conway had earlier confirmed that Iraq will not be included under the travel ban in revised executive order on immigration and refugees. Iraq will not be included under the travel ban “based on their enhanced screening and reporting measures,” Conway said on ‘Fox and Friends’.
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway had earlier confirmed that Iraq will not be included under the travel ban in revised executive order on immigration and refugees. Iraq will not be included under the travel ban “based on their enhanced screening and reporting measures,” Conway said on ‘Fox and Friends’.
Her comments are the first time an administration official has definitively and publically said the nation will be removed from the order.
After reports in the U.S. media suggested that Iraq will not feature in the ban list in the revised immigration order by Donald Trump, it has emerged that the country’s name was dropped after intensive lobbying from the Iraqi government at the highest levels.
CNN reports that, according to a senior US official, the lobbying included a phone call between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on February 10 and an in-person conversation between Abadi and Vice President Mike Pence in Munich on February 18.
The report says that those conversations were followed by discussions between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and members of the Iraqi government about vetting measures in place that would prevent suspected terrorists from leaving Iraq and coming to the United States.
In Trump’s call with Abadi, the President vowed to seek a resolution to his counterpart’s concerns about his citizens’ being unable to enter the United States, according to a readout of the phone call from Baghdad.
Trump also faced pressure to remove Iraq from the order from some American national security officials, who argued the restriction burdened a key anti-ISIS partner. Some of those voices were holdovers from the Obama administration.
Here is the list of other six countries still banned from entering the United States:
Iran
US President Donald Trump intends to challenge the Iranian regime as it poses threat to its neighbouring countries. Issues between US and Iran increased after Iran prevented three deputies in the US Congress from travelling to the country. It is believed that banning Iran from entering the USA is a warning to Tehran from the United States president. As per the data released by the Department of Homeland Security, 35,266 nonimmigrant visas were granted to Iranians to enter the United States in 2015.
Syria
Syria and United States has been into conflict since the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iraq war and the Golan Heights annexation. However, the relation between both countries got worse after the Syrian civilian war of 2012. As per the data released by the Department of Homeland Security, a total of 16,010 non-immigrant visas were granted to Syrians to enter the United States in 2015.
Somalia
A war-torn country in the horn of Africa, people of Somalia are dying due to hunger and poverty since there is a lack of central government and law and order in the country. Known as the land of illegal activities, instability has been one of the prime issues of Somalia. As per the data released by the Department of Homeland Security, 359 nonimmigrant visas were granted to the citizens of Somalia to enter the United States in 2015.
Libya
Libya has been in conflicts since the Arab Spring protest of 2011 after which the Libyan crisis resulted in the first Libyan civil war, foreign military intervention and death of Muammar Gaddafi. The death of Gaddafi lead to the rise of violence and instability which resulted in tens of thousands of casualties across the country. The impact of the Arab Spring protest was so bad that former US President Barack Obama in April 2016 stated that not preparing for a post-Gaddafi Libya was the ‘worst mistake’ of his presidency. As per the data released by the Department of Homeland Security, 2879 nonimmigrant visas were granted to the citizens of Libya to enter the United States in 2015.
Sudan
In 2001, Sudan publicly supported the international coalition action against Al-Qaida network and the Taliban in Afghanistan. However, the government criticised the U.S. strikes in the country and opposed a widening of the effort against international terrorism to other countries. Sudan remains in the state sponsors of terrorism list. As per the data released by the Department of Homeland Security, 4729 nonimmigrant visas were granted to the citizens of Sudan to enter the United States in 2015.
Yemen
Yemen has been the centre for the Al Qaeda to operate in the Arabian Peninsula. Yemen is a fragile state plagued by a myriad of socio-economic and security challenges. The population faces high levels of poverty and unemployment and a low literacy rate. As per the data released by the Department of Homeland Security, 5549 nonimmigrant visas were granted to the citizens of Yemen to enter the United States in 2015.
ANI