US President Donald Trump on Sunday restricted or suspended travel to the US from eight countries, adding North Korea and Venezuela, while subtracting Sudan, from his earlier ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority nations.
“I must act to protect the security and interests of the United States and its people,” Trump wrote in Sunday’s proclamation.
The move came as the original order, which had been limited by court challenges, was set to expire.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Trump said “the tougher, the better” about the restrictions, which are to remain in place until the countries are found to have changed their behavior.
During his presidential campaign, Trump spoke often of “extreme vetting” of those wanting to enter the US.
On Sunday he tweeted: “We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet.”
The new restrictions affect travel to varying degrees from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, all of which were on the original list. The US is also to restrict or ban travel from Chad, North Korea and Venezuela.
Each of the countries is to be subject to its own set of restrictions, as set out in Sunday’s order.
The US Department of Homeland Security would have the authority to add or remove travel restrictions on countries as conditions change, a senior US administration official said.
New parts of the restrictions are to take effect on Oct. 18, after a grace period that might prevent the kind of mass confusion seen at airports in the US and abroad after the initial iteration of the travel ban took effect immediately.
Other limitations took effect on Sunday.
“The State Department will coordinate with other federal agencies to implement these measures in an orderly manner,” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement.
The previous travel ban was scheduled to expire on Sunday after the US Supreme Court’s ruling in June, which tailored the ban to only include those who have no “bona fide relationship” to the US.
Acting US Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke sent Trump recommendations for entry restrictions and additional visa requirements tailored to shortcomings in the information each country shares with the US, and an assessment of the risk of terrorist infiltration the nation poses, US administration officials told reporters on Friday.
“The restrictions announced are tough and tailored, and they send a message to foreign governments that they must work with us to enhance security,” Duke said in a statement on Sunday.
In the order, Trump said the US Secretary of Homeland Security assessed that Iraq also did not meet requirements for identity-management protocols and other risk-mitigating factors, but that entry restrictions were not warranted given the country’s ties to the US and efforts to combat terrorists.
Trump’s previous efforts to restrict travel to the US prompted court challenges, mass protests and criticism from corporate leaders.
He rescinded his first travel ban after it was halted by a judge and replaced it with an executive order on March 6, which was challenged at the Supreme Court.
That order was set for an Oct. 10 argument at the Supreme Court.
It is unclear how the new restrictions issued by Trump will affect that case, which also covers a separate provision of the order that suspends refugee admissions until Oct. 24.
US Department of Justice spokeswoman Sarah Flores last week said government lawyers would continue to “vigorously defend” the travel restrictions.
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