[Photo: by Doug Mills / The NYTimes]

3/6/17:  Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States

Without much fanfare – the news media was not present - President Trump has signed a new Executive Order temporarily blocking travel to the United States from countries he says pose a high terrorism risk.

How does the new Executive Order differ from the first Order that was issued in January and subsequently blocked in the federal courts?

• The list of barred countries has been whittled down to 6; travelers from Iraq are no longer barred from traveling to the U.S.
• Travelers from the 6 remaining predominantly Muslim countries - Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen - are barred from traveling to the U.S. for 90 days.
• The Order does not become effective immediately – instead, it will take effect 3/16/17.
• Legal permanent residents and green card holders will not be restricted from re-entering the U.S.
• People who had visas by 1/27/17 - the date of the first Order – will be permitted to enter the U.S.
• All refugee admissions are to be halted for 120 days.
• The earlier Order was revoked.

The new Executive Order takes pains to explain away various criticisms of Trump’s first Order. For example, it states that the first Order "was not motivated by animus toward any religion."

While Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended the president's authority to issue the new order, as well as the original measure, key Democrats like Chuck Schumer began to criticize the new travel restrictions

"A watered-down ban is still a ban," he said, adding that he believes it makes the U.S. less safe.