Trump indicates he may sign a new travel ban
President Trump said on Friday that he may sign a brand-new travel ban next week, rather than waiting for the courts to deal with his first one.
Mr. Trump says speed is essential to national security, but his ban was placed on hold last week by a federal judge and Mr. Trump lost a second round Thursday in a Court of Appeals.
Aboard Air Force One on Friday, Mr. Trump vowed he would soon impose tougher screening procedures -- and possibly a new executive order -- adding to comments he made earlier in the day at the White House.
“We will be doing something very rapidly, having to do with additional security for our country, you’ll be seeing that sometime next week,” Mr. Trump said in a press conference.
The appeals court ruling kept Mr. Trump’s executive order on hold while courts consider whether it’s legal for him to impose a temporary ban on refugees and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim nations
The Obama administration had previously identified those seven countries as of most concern for terrorism -- and Mr. Trump said the temporary ban was necessary while national security officials reviewed Mr. Obama’s vetting procedures.
Sources say one possible option -- stepping up that review even without a travel ban in place and coming up with tougher new vetting measures -- that would make much of the executive order unnecessary and would avoid legal problems ahead.
“There is a concern that the reckless manner in which President Trump did this order and the litigation that ensued will cause the courts to put limits on perfectly legitimate authorities,” said Benjamin Wittes of the Brookings Institution.
Now there’s a chance the entire California-based federal appeals court could review Thursday’s ruling by the three judges, and Mr. Trump also could ask the Supreme Court to intervene -- but, at this preliminary phase, that is unlikely.