The new executive order President Trump issued this week puts “a temporary pause on the entry of nationals from” six countries that have been identified as having connections to terrorists.
The countries included in the order are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
“As threats to our security continue to evolve and change, common sense dictates that we continually re-evaluate and re-assess the systems we rely upon to protect our country,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said this week. “While no system can be made completely infallible, the American people can have high confidence we are identifying ways to improve the vetting process and thus keep terrorists from entering our country.”
Trump on Jan. 27 issued an executive order barring “certain aliens” from seven countries — the six aforementioned and Iraq — from entering the country. A federal judge subsequently halted that order, prompting Trump to issue this new executive order.
The Trump administration was criticized for the rollout of the initial executive order, which caused some confusion at airports. However, the U.S. Travel Association offered some praise to Trump the new order.
“The American travel community supports efforts to bolster national security, and the Trump administration deserves some credit for the substantially more cautious and deliberate introduction of the revised executive order,” U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow said in a statement.
“We are confident that administration officials have adequately prioritized national security, but we hope they are open to adjusting their approach to address economic objectives as well,” Dow added. “We also continue to urge that the security reviews prescribed by the executive orders be concluded as quickly as possible.”
The new order takes effect March 16.