U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration introduced a revised, streamlined travel ban Monday, in the hopes of meeting less resistance than his first executive order which was promptly thrown out by the courts.
The new executive order will go into effect on March 16.
In contrast to the announcement of the first travel ban, President Trump didn’t attend Monday’s press conference. Instead, he signed the document behind closed doors, leaving Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly to explain it to the public.
Tillerson said the executive order, titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, is necessary to secure the country.
“As threats to our security continue to evolve and change, common sense dictates that we continually re-evaluate and reassess the systems we rely upon to protect our country,” said Tillerson.
Trump’s initial travel ban, introduced on Jan. 27, sparked protests across the U.S. and in Canada. The ban’s sudden implementation resulted in chaos at airports as immigrants and refugees were blocked or removed from flights.
At the time Trump said waiting to enforce any such ban would leave the door open for the “bad” to rush into the country.
WATCH: Protest erupt at U.S. airports as Donald Trump’s travel ban takes effect
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San Francisco demonstrators rally against Trump’s travel ban -
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What’s changed
The new travel ban includes a 90-day restriction for passport-holding citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — Iraq was removed from the list. Iraq’s inclusion in Trump’s first travel ban was met with resistance due to the country’s involvement in the fight against ISIS.
Along with current efforts overseas, thousands of Iraqis have fought alongside U.S. troops for years or worked as translators since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Many have resettled in the United States after being threatened for working with U.S. troops.
Some Iraq war veterans blasted the initial ban, saying the U.S. government was “turning their backs” on Iraqis.
The new executive order also ensures that anyone from the six restricted countries who holds a valid visa or permanent residency will not be impacted by the new ban.
The first ban prompted anxiety among U.S. green card holders, some even abandoned travel plans over worries they would not be allowed to re-enter the U.S.
In the short time the ban was in place the State Department said it cancelled 60,000 visas for citizens from the banned countries.
READ MORE: Trump hopes revised travel ban will stand up to legal challenges
Syrian refugees will still be banned, as will all other refugees for 120 days. However, Syrian refugees are no longer being singled out and subjected to an indefinite ban as they were under the first travel ban.
Refugees who are already in transit and already have been approved will still be able to travel to the U.S.
The U.S. will also cap the number of refugees it accepts in 2017 at 50,000; last fall Barack Obama said the U.S. would to accept 110,000 over the next year.
With files from Reuters
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