The Trump administration on Sunday, Sept. 24, announced new travel restrictions “indefinitely banning almost all travel to the United States from seven countries, including most of the nations covered by [its] original travel ban, citing threats to national security” as reported by The New York Times and other major news outlets.
The new travel order impacts citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen, and it places permanent restrictions on travel, unlike the Trump administration’s original 90-day suspension.
The restrictions on Venezuela are more narrow in scope and mainly affect certain government officials.
Reuters reported that “the new travel ban could be harder to fight in court,” after speaking with legal experts and scholars who noted the updated legislation "is the result of a months-long analysis" and "might be less easily tied to Trump’s campaign-trail statements." The travel restrictions are set to go into effect on Oct. 18.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), which was highly critical of the original travel ban, released an official statement with more information on the updated travel restrictions and their expected impact.
“The White House has now established clearer criteria and a process for evaluating the admission of foreign visitors into the United States as well as a willingness to engage with other countries to assist them in meeting the mutual beneficial goal of safe travel,” said GBTA Executive Director and COO Michael W. McCormick.
"Through this process, the federal government was able to raise the level of security for travel into the U.S. through constructive bilateral engagement. However, the damage from the previous executive orders has been done. The initial comprehensive January and March travel bans have created the perception that the U.S. is closed for business. While security is paramount, the White House should now work to counter that perception. The resulting losses in business travel and trade have left a lasting negative impact on our economy."
Update: According to Politico, the U.S. Supreme Court canceled oral arguments on Trump's travel ban. The justices did not drop the pending travel ban cases altogether, but removed them from the court's oral argument calendar.
