US mulls replacing travel ban with new restrictions

Bloomberg

President Donald Trump is weighing replacing his ban on travellers entering the US from six predominantly Muslim nations with a set of more specific and tailored restrictions based, in part, on how much information countries share with the US.
The Department of Homeland Security has sent Trump recommendations for entry restrictions and additional visa requirements based on shortcomings in the information each country shares with the US and an assessment of the risk of terrorist infiltration the nation poses, administration officials told reporters.
The changes could be put in place as soon as this weekend, with a new proclamation from Trump, officials said. “The acting secretary has recommended actions that are tough and that are tailored, including travel restrictions and enhanced screening for certain countries,” said Miles Taylor, a counselor to acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke.
Taylor and other officials on a conference call for reporters declined to say what countries would be affected or even whether it would be fewer or more than the six cited in the president’s original travel ban. They said the decisions would be left to the White House.
Taylor said the Homeland Security Department concentrated in its assessment on factors such as terrorist and criminal history information each country shares with the US, the security of passports issued and how well each country established identity of passport-holders. The US notified all countries in July of “baseline” standards they would need to meet to avoid travel restrictions. While some countries were unable or unwilling to meet the guidelines, most provided the necessary information to meet the baseline, Taylor said. The State Department made clear to countries that they could face penalties if they did not provide the necessary information, he said.
The president received a decision briefing on the travel ban, led by Duke. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, and White House Counsel Don McGahn also participated, White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Walters said. The State Department will issue guidance to consular offices next week with information about how to implement the new restrictions, said Carl Risch, assistant secretary for consular affairs at the State Department.
“We regularly send guidance to the field and we would expect to do that next week if there’s any ambiguity about how a visa applicant is to be interviewed,” Risch told.
The travel restrictions could further inflame geopolitical tensions around the world as Trump is engaged in heated rhetoric against the governments of Iran, North Korea and Venezuela. Several countries did not respond to the US requests for more information.
The new restrictions could have implications for a scheduled October 10 argument at the Supreme Court, possibly even prompting the justices to cancel the hearing. The high-court case centres on the existing travel ban, including the part that expires on Sunday and a separate provision that suspends refugee admissions until October 24.