WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Sunday slapped new travel restrictions on
citizens from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad, expanding to eight the
list of
countries covered by his original travel bans that have been derided by critics
and challenged in court.
Iran, Libya,
Syria, Yemen and Somalia were left on the list of affected countries in a new
proclamation issued by the president. Restrictions on citizens from Sudan were
lifted.
The measures
help fulfill a campaign promise Trump made to tighten U.S. immigration
procedures and align with his “America First” foreign policy vision. Unlike the
president’s original bans, which had time limits, this one is open-ended.
“Making
America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our
country we cannot safely vet,” the president said in a tweet shortly after the
proclamation was released.
Iraqi
citizens will not be subject to travel prohibitions but will face enhanced
scrutiny or vetting.
The current
ban, enacted in March, was set to expire on Sunday evening. The new
restrictions are slated to take effect on Oct. 18 and resulted from a review
after Trump’s original travel bans sparked international outrage and legal
challenges.
The addition
of North Korea and Venezuela broadens the restrictions from the original,
mostly Muslim-majority list.
An
administration official, briefing reporters on a conference call, acknowledged
that the number of North Koreans now traveling to the United States was very
low.
Rights group
Amnesty International USA condemned the measures.
“Just
because the original ban was especially outrageous does not mean we should
stand for yet another version of government-sanctioned discrimination,” it said
in a statement.
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