by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:45 AM ET, Mon September 25, 2017
President Donald Trump and his administration revealed a new travel ban Sunday that will indefinitely bar people from seven countries from visiting the United States.
The new travel ban replaces the previous executive order, which was set to expire Sunday after its 90 day trial period.
According to The New York Times, the new regulations have the biggest impact on the citizens of seven countries, including Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, but it also calls for the suspension of non-immigrant visas for government officials and their immediate families from Venezuela.
The new travel ban is expected to take effect October 18.
"Making America Safe is my number one priority," President Trump said on Twitter. "We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet."
Unlike the initial travel ban proposed by President Trump, his administration has worked for months with various agencies and foreign governments to craft the new rules, avoiding the same mess at airports across the U.S. that accompanied the first executive order.
As part of the new travel ban, valid visas will not be revoked and there will be case-by-case waivers for citizens from the impacted countries who meet a specific criterion. Of all the countries mentioned in the original travel ban, only Sudan was exempt from the new order.
[READMORE]READ MORE: US Government Issues Full Travel Ban to North Korea[/READMORE]
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security said the new restrictions are aimed at countries which have failed to take necessary security precautions or have not shared sufficient information with U.S. government officials, according to WhiteHouse.gov.
The Department of Homeland Security said sixteen countries did not meet the original security benchmarks, but eight of those nations improved procedures in time to be exempt from the new travel ban. The remainder of the nations mentioned will face restrictions until they comply.
The addition of Venezuela and North Korea to the new executive order will also help President Trump and his administration block challengers to the restrictions that claim the order was a veiled ban on Muslims.
In response to the new travel restrictions, the Justice Department has suggested both sides submit legal briefs by October 5 that explain how the new policy will impact the Supreme Court's review of the order. The high court's review is scheduled to begin October 10.
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