US President Donald Trump is preparing to sign a revised executive order temporarily barring the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries and halting the nation’s refugee program. A White House official says plans to roll out the order are on track for Monday. The official insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the order ahead of the official announcement.

The new order has been in the works since shortly after a federal court blocked Trump’s initial effort, but the administration has repeatedly pushed back the signing. Trump administration officials have said the new order aims to overcome the legal challenges to the first. Its goal will be the same: keep would-be terrorists out of the United States while the government reviews the vetting system for refugees and visa applicants from certain parts of the world.

Trump’s original orders temporarily blocked citizens of Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya from coming to the United States and put on hold the US refugee program. The revised order is expected to remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary US travel ban, following pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, which had urged the White House to reconsider, given Iraq’ key role in fighting the Islamic State group.

The new order is also expected to make other changes, including no longer singling out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban and making clear that all existing visas will be honored. Trump signed his original executive order in late January, sparking confusion and anger as travelers were detained at US airports and barred from boarding flights at foreign airports. The signing is expected to spark a new round of lawsuits and outrage. </s> The Iraq parliament on Monday passed a “reciprocity measure” to counter United States President Donald Trump’s immigration restrictions on people from seven Muslim-dominated countries, AP reported. Iraq and Iran had earlier said they would consider ways to respond to the curbs. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, has dismissed demands to cancel Trump’s visit to the country over his controversial ban, BBC reported.

Legislators Kamil al-Ghrairi and Mohammed Saadoun confirmed the decision, but did not specify if the ban was applicable for US military personnel and entrepreneurs, AP reported. They also did not clarify if it would hamper operations against the Islamic State group.

In the UK, a petition opposing the US president’s visit has secured 9 lakh signatures – only 1 lakh petitioners are needed to merit a discussion of the matter in Parliament, BBC reported. Trump’s imminent visit to the United Kingdom had been announced during Britain Prime Minister Theresa May’s trip to Washington.

Besides Iran and Iraq, Trump’s executive order signed on Friday applies to citizens of Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. “We want to ensure that we are not admitting into our country the very threats our soldiers are fighting overseas,” Trump had said while announcing the move on Friday.

The new order immediately halts a US programme that allows for the relocation of people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice to the United States. The 2016 initiative had benefited around 85,000 people that year and was expanded by the Barack Obama administration to include 1,10,000 refugees in 2017. Exceptions during the freeze may be made on a case-to-case basis, officials said. </s> Washington (CNN) US President Donald Trump signed a new executive order Monday that bans immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, dropping Iraq from January's previous order, and reinstates a temporary blanket ban on all refugees.

The new travel ban comes six weeks after Trump's original executive order caused chaos at airports nationwide before it was blocked by federal courts. It removes out language in the original order that indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and called for prioritizing the admission of refugees who are religious minorities in their home countries. That provision drew criticism of a religious test for entry and would have prioritized Christians over Muslims fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East.

The new ban, which takes effect March 16, also explicitly exempts citizens of the six banned countries who are legal US permanent residents or have valid visas to enter the US -- including those whose visas were revoked during the original implementation of the ban, senior administration officials said.

"We cannot compromise our nation's security by allowing visitors entry when their own governments are unable or unwilling to provide the information we need to vet them responsibly, or when those governments actively support terrorism," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday.

The new measures will block citizens of Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from obtaining visas for at least 90 days. The order also suspends admission of refugees into the US for 120 days, directing US officials to improve vetting measures for a program that is already widely regarded as extremely stringent.

Trump signed the executive order earlier Monday in the Oval Office outside the view of reporters and news cameras, after more than three weeks of repeated delays, the latest of which came after White House officials decided last week to delay the signing to avoid cutting into positive coverage of Trump's joint address to Congress.

The delays also came amid an intense lobbying effort from Iraqi government officials, including from the country's prime minister, to remove Iraq from the original seven-state list of banned countries.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Iraq's removal from the list came after an intense review from the State Department to improve vetting of Iraqi citizens in collaboration with the Iraqi government, though he did not specify how vetting had been improved.

"The United States welcomes this kind of close cooperation," he said. "This revised order will bolster the security of the United States and our allies."

The rollout of the revised travel ban marks an important moment for the administration, which has little room for error after the chaotic debut of the original plan. That failure raised questions about the new White House's capacity to govern and to master the political intricacies needed to manage complicated political endeavors in Washington. It also brought Trump into conflict with the judiciary in the first sign of how constitutional checks and balances could challenge his vision of a powerful presidency built on expansive executive authority.

The original order came under intense criticism as an attempt to bar Muslims from entering the country, and Trump's call during the campaign for a "Muslim Ban" was cited in court cases attacking the ban.

The new order does not prioritize religious minorities when considering refugee admissions cases.

Administration officials Monday stressed they do not see the ban as targeting a specific religion.

"(The order is) not any way targeted as a Muslim ban ... we want to make sure everyone understands that," an official told reporters.

"The Department of Justice believes that this executive order just as the first executive order is a lawful and proper exercise of presidential authority," Sessions said.

Democrats responded by calling Trump's order a repeat version of the first attempt.

"Here we go again...Muslim Ban 2.0 #NoBanNoWall" tweeted Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana, one of two Muslims serving in the House of Representatives.

Working to contain fallout

The newly crafted order also revealed that the administration wasn't just paying attention to the legal criticism in the courts, but also recalibrating in light of the heavy political fire they faced after the first order's messy rollout.

While administration lawyers argued the original travel ban went into effect immediately to prevent terrorists from rushing into the country, the revised ban will phase in after 10 days. The previous order will be rescinded on that date.

Trump had previously said he opposed giving any advance notice of the ban.

"If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad "dudes" out there!" he tweeted on January 30

The White House also abandoned the sense of urgency with which it implemented the first travel ban, delaying the signing of a new executive order multiple times over the last three weeks. Politics also came into play as White House officials delayed the signing from last Wednesday in part to allow positive coverage of the President's joint address to Congress to continue uninterrupted.

"We want the (executive order) to have its own 'moment,'" a senior administration official told CNN last week.

The President signed the action Monday morning without the fanfare he has given to other executive orders. No media was present during the signing at the White House, an administration official confirmed. White House spokesman Sean Spicer tweeted a picture of Trump signing the order.

White House officials collaborated for several weeks with officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and kept congressional leaders apprised of their progress this time around after the White House drew a backlash for keeping Congress and relevant federal agencies almost entirely in the dark during the first rollout.

To bolster its national security claims, the new executive order also states FBI has reported that approximately 300 people who entered the United States as refugees are "currently the subjects of counter-terrorism investigations."

"The fact remains that we are not immune to terrorist threats and that our enemies often use our own freedoms and generosity against us," Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said. "We cannot risk the prospect of malevolent actors using our immigration system to take American lives."

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, said the ban "has the same fundamental flaws" as the first order.

"We know that country of origin is a poor predictor of a propensity to commit acts of terror. If it were, Pakistan has been a far more problematic source of attack planning and would be at the top of the President's list, but that country merits not even a mention in the order," Schiff said in a statement.

Why Iraq was removed

But the new order was also delayed in part because of a debate within the administration over how to handle Iraq.

Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and national security adviser Gen. H.R. McMaster had all advocated for Iraq to be removed from the Trump administration's list of banned countries in the new executive order for diplomatic reasons, including Iraq's role in fighting ISIS, sources told CNN's Elise Labott and Evan Perez. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly also supported the move.

Iraq was removed from the revised travel ban executive order after intensive lobbying from the Iraqi government at the highest levels, according to a senior US official.

That included a phone call between Trump and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on February 10 and an in-person conversation between Abadi and Vice President Mike Pence in Munich on February 18.

Those conversations were followed by discussions between Tillerson and members of the Iraqi government about vetting measures in place that would prevent suspected terrorists from leaving Iraq and coming to the United States. Iraq did not implement new measures; rather, the country provided more detail to US officials about how it screens travelers.

In Trump's call with Abadi, the President vowed to seek a resolution to his counterpart's concerns about his citizens' being unable to enter the United States, according to a readout of the phone call from Baghdad. The US official said Trump asked Tillerson to get greater clarity on vetting measures in Iraq.

Trump also faced pressure to remove Iraq from the order from some American national security officials, who argued the restriction burdened a key anti-ISIS partner. Some of those voices were holdovers from the Obama administration.

Iraq's Foreign Ministry welcomed reports of its removal from the list of countries affected by the travel ban.

"(The) Iraqi Foreign Ministry expresses deep relief regarding the executive order that was issued by the American president Donald Trump, which excludes the Iraqis from the travel ban to the United States," said Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmad Jamal. "This is considered an important step in the right direction that strengthen and reinforces the strategic alliance between Baghdad and Washington in many fields, in particular the fight against terrorism."

This story is breaking and will be updated.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct Kelly's name. </s> US President, Donald Trump has just signed a new and updated executive order banning immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, notably dropping Iraq from January's previous order.

The new travel ban comes six weeks after Trump's original executive order was rolled out amid chaos and confusion at airports in the United States and eventually blocked by a federal court.

The new executive order still temporary bans Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. And it won't take effect till March 16th. And it doesn't affect green card holders and those with valid visas. Hopefully, US federal judges will stop this too. </s> President Donald Trump has signed a revised version of his executive order banning immigrants and refugees from entering the United States.

In case you need a refresher: Trump signed the initial executive order in January, causing widespread chaos and protests at airports. Federal judges ultimately deemed the measure unconstitutional and blocked it in February. So Trump's administration decided to try again—drafting a new version of the blocked order.

Officials from the Departments of Homeland Security told New York Times reporters Monday that the revised order was designed to respond to legal concerns and address an urgent national security risk (the flow of immigrants and refugees into the country). And in a statement about the order's signing, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the new order "a vital measure for strengthening our national security" and said Trump is "exercising his rightful authority to keep our people safe."

Here are the five major ways the revised order differs from the original:
• The original order prevented citizens from seven countries—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—from entering the United States for a 90-day period following the order's signing. The new order no longer blocks citizens from Iraq from entry. (The Pentagon and State Department reportedly encouraged the administration to take Iraq—an ally in the fight against ISIS—off the list, according to NBC News . Per a White House fact sheet obtained by The New York Times : The state department has been in negotiations with Iraq about this, and Iraq agreed to be more cooperative in helping the United States vet Iraqi citizens who want to obtain U.S. visas.)
• The original order banned refugees from any country from entry for a 120-day period following the order's signing, and it barred Syrian refugees from entry indefinitely. But it included explicit case-by-case exceptions for religious minorities, preexisting international agreements, and undue hardship. The new order no longer contains the religious minority protection.
• The original order affected all immigrants—including those who had been issued visas. The new order does not impact immigrants who had already been issued visas by the day the order was signed (today).
• The original order was enforced immediately after the order's signing, which led to previously approved immigrants with visas being detained at American airports and caused nationwide protests . The new order will be phased in over a two-week period in an attempt to avoid this chaos and confusion, and it will fully go into effect March 16.
• Like we mentioned earlier, the original order banned Syrian refugees from entering the United States indefinitely. The new order only bans them for 120 days (the same length of time it bans all refugees).

While the new order was designed to hold up in courts, organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) say the revision still might not be defensible. "The Trump administration…has replaced [the order] with a scaled-back version that shares the same fatal flaws,” Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, tells SELF. “[Trump] can expect continued disapproval from both the courts and the people."

Click here to read the full text of Trump's original order , and here to read the full text of the new one .

Feeling motivated to act? There are tons of ways to make your voice heard. SELF's resources on finding activist opportunities and getting involved in policy decisions are great places to start. And if you're passionate about women's access to reproductive health care in particular, you can also consider: donating to the Center for Reproductive Rights , volunteering for NARAL Pro-Choice America , donating to the Reproductive Health Access Project , or volunteering for Planned Parenthood .
• What's the Difference Between Immigrants and Refugees?
• 14 People You Didn't Know Were Refugees
• How I'm Helping Those Affected by the Executive Order on Refugees and Immigration

Also: Trump Says Refugees Are Surging Into U.S.—It's True But Misleading (from Newsy) </s> WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump signed a new version of an executive order Monday that's intended to curb immigration from several Muslim-majority countries.

The new order, which will be phased in over the next two weeks, temporarily bans travelers from six places -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- but does not apply to anyone who has already been granted a travel visa.

Trump also met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and took to Twitter to praise Exxon Mobil, the company Tillerson recently departed.

Here’s what you need to know.

The biggest headline Monday was Trump’s executive order on immigration, which he signed without fanfare or in the presences of any reporters. The executive order was intended to replace a different order Trump issued in January, which was quickly blocked by a court.

The new order differs from the original order in a few ways. It doesnot include Iraq, and it doesn’t block any travelers who were granted visas prior to Jan. 27. And while the original ban suspended Syrian refugees indefinitely, this ban will only be in effect for 90 days for all the countries it impacts.

The last order caused chaos at airports across the country -- and led to mass protests -- but the longer roll-out period for the new order might go more smoothly. </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is preparing to sign a revised executive order temporarily barring the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries and halting the nation’s refugee program.

A White House official says plans to roll out the order are on track for Monday. The official insisted on anonymity in order to discuss the order ahead of the official announcement.

The new order has been in the works since shortly after a federal court blocked Trump’s initial effort, but the administration has repeatedly pushed back the signing as it has worked to better co-ordinate with the agencies that it will need to implement the ban.

Trump administration officials have said the new order aims to overcome the legal challenges to the first. Its goal will be the same: keep would-be terrorists out of the United States while the government reviews the vetting system for refugees and visa applicants from certain parts of the world.

Trump’s original orders temporarily blocked citizens of Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Libya from coming to the United States and put on hold the U.S. refugee program.

The revised order is expected to remove Iraq from the list of countries whose citizens face a temporary U.S. travel ban for 90 days. That follows pressure from the Pentagon and State Department, which had urged the White House to reconsider, given Iraq’s key role in fighting the Islamic State group.

According to a draft version of the new order outlined to lawmakers late last week, citizens of the other six countries will face the 90-day suspension of visa processing as the administration continues to analyze how to enhance vetting procedures.

Other changes are also expected, including making clear that all existing visas will be honoured and no longer singling out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban. Syrian refugees will now be treated like other refugees and be subjected to a 120-day suspension of the refugee program.

The new version is also expected to remove language that would give priority for religious minorities. Critics had accused the administration of adding such language to help Christians get into the United States while excluding Muslims.

Trump signed his original executive order in late January, sparking confusion and anger as travellers were detained at U.S. airports and barred from boarding flights at foreign airports.

The signing is expected to spark a new round of lawsuits and controversy. </s> Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said today that US President Donald Trump’s decision to ban arrivals from seven Muslim majority countries was “a great gift to extremists”. “#MuslimBan will be recorded in history as a great gift to extremists and their supporters,” Zarif said as part of a string of tweets. “Collective discrimination aids terrorist recruitment by deepening fault-lines exploited by extremist demagogues to swell their ranks.” Trump on Friday signed a sweeping executive order to suspend refugee arrivals and bar visas for travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Iran’s foreign ministry had earlier released a statement saying it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.

Watch What Else Is In News?

But Zarif added that its restrictions would not apply to Americans who already have a valid visa.

“Unlike the US, our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed,” he wrote.

With more than one million Iranians living in the United States, the travel restrictions are expected to cause chaos for students, businessmen and families travelling between the two countries.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said the measures were proof of America’s “violent racist spirit”.

The foreign ministry released a travel advisory, calling on all citizens travelling to the US to “make completely sure” before leaving that they will not face obstacles.

Travel agents in Tehran said Saturday they had been instructed by foreign airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Turkish Airlines, not to sell US tickets and that Iranians holding American visas were not being allowed to board US-bound flights. </s> On Friday, Tehran said it would deny visas to US wrestlers heading to the World Cup set to take place on February 16-17 in the Iranian city of Kermanshah, in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's executive order restricting immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.

"Following the court ruling suspending #MuslimBan & the requests from the Iranian Wrestling Federation & FILA [currently United World Wrestling], US Wrestlers' visa will be granted," Zarif wrote on his Twitter.

​On Friday night, US District Judge James Robart in Seattle ordered a temporary nationwide halt to the entry ban, which has since been appealed by the US federal government. At the moment, the ban holds and several airlines have announced that they would fly passengers who were barred from entering the United States under the executive order.

Trump's executive order, signed on January 27, also blocked refugees from coming in the United States for 120 days and indefinitely suspended the entry of Syrian refugees.
Iran says it will take reciprocal action after U.S. President Donald Trump signed the executive order which limits immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.