Amended US ‘Muslim ban’ to come into effect

A revised executive order barring citizens of a number of Muslim majority countries from entering the US could come into effect today.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign a new executive order suspending refugee admissions and banning entry to people from six Muslim-majority countries.

The order is a revised version of one Trump signed in late January, arguing the move was necessary for national security reasons. It banned entry to people from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan.

Read: Trump to remove Iraq from ‘Muslim Ban’ list

The previous order was blocked by a federal appeals court following legal challenges. Critics said that the order was deeply Islamophobia, unconstitutional and bared no connection to the reality of the terrorist threat faced by the US.

The revised order is expected to remove Iraq from the list of countries but others will remain. It’s believed that the Pentagon and State Department urged the White House to reconsider because of Iraq’s key role in fighting Daesh.

The temporary ban on refugees will also appear in the new order, but Syrians will no longer be singled out for a further indefinite ban.

Speaking about the travel ban, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: “This is not UK policy, this is not our policy, nor is it a measure this government would consider. I have already made clear our anxiety about measures that discriminate on grounds of nationality in ways that are divisive and wrong.”