A revised executive order on extreme vetting of travelers from several Middle Eastern and African countries and halting the nation’s refugee program will be signed Monday by President Trump, a senior White House official said.
Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway confirmed on “Fox & Friends” that Mr. Trump will issue the new order on Monday.
She said the new version will clearly exclude legal permanent residents — a subject of initial confusion in the original order — and will not include Iraq in the list of countries whose residents would be subject to a temporary halt on traveling to the U.S.
The administration has delayed the signing as it works with federal agencies that will be responsible for enforcing the new order.
The countries affected by the revised order are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The new order also is expected not to bar Syrian refugees indefinitely, a change from the original order.
The order on tougher vetting of travelers from terror-prone nations was one of Mr. Trump’s campaign pledges, and he signed the original order shortly after taking office. But a federal judge in Seattle blocked the action, and a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction.
Since then, the administration has been working on a new directive while defending the initial order in court. In an address to Congress last week, Mr. Trump said his actions are justified due to national security concerns.
“The vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country,” Mr. Trump said. “It is not compassionate, but reckless to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur. We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America.”
A draft version of the new order circulated last week indicated that citizens of Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya will face a 90-day suspension of visa processing as the administration continues to analyze how to enhance vetting procedures.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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