New Order Indefinitely Bars Almost All Travel From Seven Countries<br />WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday issued a new order indefinitely banning almost all travel to the United States from seven countries, including<br />most of the nations covered by his original travel ban, citing threats to national security posed by letting their citizens into the country.<br />“As president, I must act to protect the security and interests of the United States<br />and its people,” Mr. Trump said in the proclamation, which White House officials said had the same force as an executive order.<br />Administration officials said that the new rules would not apply to legal permanent residents of the United States, and<br />that visitors who currently hold valid visas from the countries listed will not have their visas revoked.<br />Officials said Somalia did, barely, meet the security standards set by the United States,<br />but will still be subject to a ban on emigration and heightened scrutiny for travel because it is a safe haven for terrorists.<br />But administration officials — who have long rejected the characterization of the president’s travel restrictions as a “Muslim ban,” — noted<br />that the latest effort also applies to non-Muslim countries and was based on a rigorous evaluation of each country’s security capabilities.<br />Most citizens of Chad, Libya and Yemen will be blocked from emigrating to or visiting the United States because the countries do not have the technical capability to identify<br />and screen their travelers, and in many cases have terrorist networks in their countries, officials said.<br />The United States will consider lifting the restrictions on those countries affected only if they meet the new minimum standards, they said.
