Trump has removed Iraq from his controversial travel ban and delayed its implementation to avoid repeated chaos. The Iraqi government hailed its removal from the list as an "important step."
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Trump signs new immigration order
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US President Donald Trump issued a revised executive order banning travel to the US from six countries.
The latest directive removes Iraq from the list of Muslim-majority countries whose citizens are banned from entering America for 90 days.
The ban applies to citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and exempts those who already have valid visas.
Trump signed the order privately, although Press Secretary Sean Spicer posted a photo on Twitter of the signing.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters Iraq was taken off the list because its government had imposed new vetting procedures and because of its work with the United States in countering Islamic State militants.
The Iraqi government hailed its removal from the list as an "important step" that strengthened relations between Baghdad and Washington.
Trump's policy actions since February
Trump brought a new flurry of executive orders, memoranda and bill signings into effect in the last five weeks. Some were alterations of previous attempted policies, such as the travel ban. Here are the highlights.
Image: Reuters/C. Barria
Lucky number six - second time's a charm?
After his first travel ban was slapped down by several courts, Trump issued a revised order banning travel from six Muslim-majority countries. This time, Trump dropped Iraq from a list that included seven blacklisted countries first time around. The new order temporarily suspended the entire US refugee program, but exempted those with visas and who had already been formally accepted as refugees.
Image: Reuters/C. Barria
Turning promises into policy
From February and into March, President Trump further advanced his political objectives through a combination of executive orders, memoranda, memos, and the signing of bills into law. He also used his executive authority to undo guidelines issued under the Obama administration.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Multiple policy-making methods
In February, Trump signed 11 new executive orders (broad ranging directives that help the executive branch manage federal government operations) and issued one memorandum (a more direct executive action aimed at a specific agency) targeting the Department of Labor. The US President also signed five bills sent to his Oval Office desk by Congress, which will now become law.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Kicking off financial de-regulation
President Trump's first February executive order established "core principles" for regulating the financial system and requires the Treasury Department to review and report on key provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act. Republicans had criticized the act, which was implemented in the aftermath of the Great Recession, for strangling financial flexibility and inhibiting economic growth.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
Expanding the power of the criminal justice system
Through a series of three executive orders, Trump followed up on his campaign promise to crack down on what he had described as rampant crime in the US. He ordered Attorney General Jeff Sessions to create a Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety and heralded stronger combating of transnational crime. Trump also called for new federal crime criteria to prevent violence against police.
Image: Getty Images/J. Lott
Changing succession in the Department of Justice
On February 9, Trump signed Executive Order 13775 reversing changes to the Justice Department's line of succession that President Obama had made mere days before leaving office. Trump had already side-stepped Obama's order when he removed and replaced acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she had refused to defend Trump's travel ban.
Image: Getty Images/P. Marovich
Slashing agency regulations
Executive Order 13777, signed February 24, builds off of his previous January 30 order prioritizing massive deregulation across the federal government. The February order introduces Regulatory Reform Officers into federal agencies and creates reform task forces. Together, these bodies will advise on the "repeal, replacement or modification" of regulations perceived as prohibitive or ineffective.
Image: Getty Images/D. McNew
Dismantling environmental protection
Trump began undoing environmental protections on two fronts. Firstly, he issued an executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency to review a rule that empowers the federal government to protect waterways. Though unlikely to have immediate effects, the order could eventually weaken the 1972 Clean Water Act. Trump also signed a bill invalidating an Obama-era stream protection rule.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/S. Helber
Promoting historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)
Surronded in the Oval Office by leaders from historically black educational institutions, Trump signed Executive Order 13779 in order to "promote excellence and innovation" at HBCUs. Primary goals including increasing private-sector participation in the institutions, broadly improving HBCUs capabilities, improving the relationships between HBCUs and the federal government.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Guerrucci
Striking transgender guidelines
In a two-page letter to US public schoos, the Trump administration revoked a controversial Obama-era federal directive allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choosing. The White House jusitified the action through a pending court case, despite the guidelines already being on hold. The letter did not lay out new guidelines, meaning states can choose their policies.
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Reversing bill stopping mentally-ill people buying guns
On February 28 Trump signed a measure to block an Obama-era regulation that would have prevented about 75,000 people with mental disorders from purchasing firearms. In an effort to curb gun violence, the Obama administration asked the Social Security Administration to disclose information about people with certain mental illnesses to the gun background system.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Krzaczynski
Releases aggressive guidelines on deportation
In the third week of February the Department of Homeland Security released Trump's plans to aggressively enforce deportation policies regardless of the severity of an immigrant's criminal history. The guidelines kicked off a nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Image: picture alliance/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/AP/dpa/C. Reed
Supports women in STEM fields
Trump signed two bills promoting women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). One required NASA to encourage young women to study STEM fields and pursue careers that will help advance science and space exploration. The second required the National Science Foundation to encourage its entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to work in the commercial world.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Guerrucci
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"The Iraqi foreign ministry expresses its deep satisfaction with the executive order issued by President Donald Trump which includes an exemption for Iraqis from the ban on travel to the United States of America," spokesman Ahmed Jamal said.
The ministry "considers it an important step in the right direction that strengthens the strategic alliance between Baghdad and Washington in a number of fields, especially fighting terrorism," said Jamal.
Tillerson said the order was necessary to ensure domestic security.
"As threats to our security continue to evolve and change, common sense dictates that we continually re-evaluate and reassess the systems we rely upon to protect our country."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions added at a joint press conference that it "responsibly provides a needed pause so we can carefully review how we scrutinize people coming here from these countries of concern."
"Three of these nations are state sponsors of terrorism," Sessions said, referring to Iran, Sudan and Syria, adding that others had served as "safe havens" for terror operatives.
In contrast to the first order which was effective immediately, the new directive had an implementation delay to limit the disruptions that created havoc for some travelers. Trump also softened the delivery somewhat, not announcing the measure in a major press conference as with his first, short-lived attempt to limit entry to people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
A factsheet seen by news agency Associated Press ahead of its signing said that the goal of the new order was the same as the first: keeping would-be terrorists out of the country while the government reviews the vetting system for refugees and visa applicants from certain parts of the world.
According to the fact sheet, the Department of Homeland Security will conduct a country-by-country review of the information the six targeted nations provide to the US for visa and immigration decisions. Those countries will then have 50 days to comply with US government requests to update or improve that information.
The order also suspends the entire US refugee program for 120 days, though refugees already formally scheduled for travel by the State Department will be allowed entry. After the suspension is lifted, the number of refugees allowed into the US will be capped at 50,000 for fiscal year 2017.
The new order no longer singles out Syrian refugees for an indefinite ban. Syrian refugees will now be treated like other refugees.