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Trump to unveil new travel ban Monday, without Iraq

The Trump administration Monday will announce a revised executive order banning immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, White House adviser Kellyanne Co...
Trump signs Executive Orders

The Trump administration Monday will announce a revised executive order banning immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway said.

Iraq will not be included under the travel ban “based on their enhanced screening and reporting measures,” Conway said on “Fox and Friends.”

The new travel ban comes six weeks after Trump’s original executive order was rolled out to chaos and confusion at airports nationwide and a legal fight that saw the President rail against federal judges on Twitter. The administration hopes the new version will pass muster with the courts.

The order will make clear that lawful permanent residents (otherwise known as green card holders) are excluded from any travel ban. Also those with validly issued visas will also be exempt from the ban, Conway said. It will be effective as of March 16.

“If you have travel docs, if you actually have a visa, if you are a legal permanent resident, you are not covered under this particular executive action,” Conway said. “Also, Iraq is no longer on the list based on their enhanced screening and reporting measures.”

The original order barred citizens of seven countries — Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — from entering the US for 90 days, all refugees for 120 days and indefinitely halted refugees from Syria.

The release of the new order has been delayed in part because of a debate within the administration on how to handle Iraq.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, and National Security Adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster had all advocated for Iraq to be removed from the Trump administration’s list of banned countries in the new executive order for diplomatic reasons, including Iraq’s role in fighting ISIS, sources told CNN’s Elise Labott and Evan Perez. Homeland Security Secretary James Kelly also supported the move.

The order was expected to be released last Wednesday, but the announcement was postponed by the White House after the strong positive reaction to Trump’s speech to Congress.

“We want the (executive order) to have its own ‘moment,'” a senior administration official said.

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