Trump’s New Travel Order Looks Bulletproof

President Trump rescinded his original travel order today, and replaced it it with a new one that is tailored to meet the legal objections that the first order encountered. The order is at the bottom of this post in its entirety, so you can read it for yourself.

The order is generally similar to the first one, but Iraq is now treated differently from the other six countries of concern. The order retains the 50,000 refugee ceiling for the current year. It adds language that explains the logic of the order, cites constitutional and statutory authority, and negates the criticism that it is directed at Muslims.

It adds explicit exceptions for, e.g., foreign nationals residing in the U.S. who happen to be out of the country when the order goes into effect. The effective date is March 16, so those affected will have some time to change their arrangements or otherwise deal with it. The order has a severability clause, and it says that if courts find any part of the order invalid as to any individuals because of a “lack of certain procedural requirements,” the relevant executive branch officials shall implement such procedures.

It is hard to see how this order can successfully be challenged in the courts. Of course, it was hard to see how the original order could be vulnerable, too. But this version addresses–successfully, it seems to me–the objections that courts had to the first order.

This version shares the central defect of the original order: it doesn’t go far enough. The modest, temporary suspensions implemented here, and the enhanced vetting procedures that are contemplated, will not do much to reduce the risk of terrorists entering the U.S., or the probably larger risk of the sons and daughters of those who will still be admitted becoming terrorists.

Here is the order:

Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States | whitehou by John Hinderaker on Scribd

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