Does Donald Trump's all-new, all-improved Muslim travel ban still provide special status for “minority religions” in countries that are notably all over 95 percent Muslim? Yes, apparently it does. Does Donald Trump's fix to his blocked plan still explicitly target immigration from specific countries, in violation of existing law? Absolutely. So just what has changed?
A draft of President Donald Trump's revised immigration ban targets the same seven countries listed in his original executive order and exempts travelers who already have a visa to travel to the U.S., even if they haven't used it yet.
A senior administration official said the order, which Trump revised after federal courts held up his original immigration and refugee ban, will target only those same seven Muslim-majority countries — Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya.
Removing the ban on people who already have visas and green cards certainly seems reasonable, and would have avoided much of the chaos that occurred when the first order literally caught travelers in midair. But there's more to it than just a minor improvement in a very bad order.
The portions that are being adjusted will likely make it harder to determine just who has standing to sue in attempting to block the new order. Standing has already been a focus of the Trump team’s attack on those working to stop the order, and the revised version may specifically make it harder for states to argue they have a direct interest in the implementation of the ban.
Trump's original executive order triggered chaos at airports around the world, as travelers were detained when the order rapidly went into effect, and U.S. permanent residents known as green-card holders were among them.
Trump's new order doesn't seem to touch the things that made it illegal or unconstitutional, but may make it more difficult for anyone to prove that in court.
Even if Syrian refugees are no longer automatically rejected under the new order, the pace of refugees entering the U.S. from all countries is likely to slow significantly. That's because even when the courts put Trump's original ban on hold, they left untouched Trump's 50,000-per-year refugee cap, a cut of more than half from the cap under the Obama administration.