Revised travel ban ‘softened the hard edges,’ says University of Sydney's US Studies Centre fellow

The administration of US President Donald Trump has unveiled a revised executive order on immigration that excludes Iraq from the ban and is only applicable to new visa applicants. The decision to spare Iraq was approved by Tom Switzer, a senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, saying Iraq is an essential ally of the United States.

Switzer said the country must not be included in the travel ban in the first place. He points that Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, has worked with Washington in its fight against jihadis, which is something that the other Muslim-majority nations do not do. “Iraq is an important US ally,” he told news.com.au.

For Switzer, the modified version of the executive order on immigration has been a significant retreat for the president and has “softened the hard edges” of the original travel ban signed on Jan. 27.

The new order now covers only six Muslim-majority nations, which are Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. And since it only applies to new visa applicants, some 60,000 people who were previously affected by the first executive order are now permitted to enter the US.

Switzer believes that the original order, which was signed by the president in front of reporters, discriminated Iraqis who had been working alongside the US, as well as those whose stay in the country are legal. “This should reassure those who thought Mr Trump was unpredictable and who believed he had the power to do whatever he wanted,” he said.

The news of the revised order was earlier delivered by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security chief John Kelly. Tillerson said that with the revised order, Trump exercises his authority to keep the American people safe. He described the ban as a “vital measure for strengthening our national security.”

But the American Civil Liberties Union seemed unimpressed with the revised order as it warned to make an attempt to block it on court. It believes that the modified version of the travel ban still discriminates on the basis of religion.

The revised order is scheduled to take effect on March 16. It permits all current visa holders in the US, which includes Syrian refugees in a 120-day suspension. Meanwhile, Iraq said the news is a “positive message” at a time when the country and America joined forces in battles.