Iraq to be removed from US travel Ban List
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Iraq will be removed from the US travel ban list of countries whose citizens face a temporary travel ban to the US after President Donald Trump’s new immigration order.
The decision follows pressure from the pentagon and state department as they had urged white house to reconsider Iraq’s inclusion given its key role in fighting the ISIS.
President Trump is expected to sign the new order on Wednesday. An earlier order was blocked by federal courts.
President Trump addressed the US Congress yesterday and vowed to introduce a new merit-based system to regulate the new arrivals in the US and reduce the flow of unskilled workers.
He said that the broad immigration reform plan was possible if both Republicans and Democrats in congress were willing to compromise.
He added that the US immigration should be based on a merit-based system, rather than relying on lower-skilled immigrants.
He said that the reform will raise wages and help struggling families enter the middle class. While pushing for tougher law enforcement, he said that the Australian Style immigration system would “ save countless dollars, raise workers’ wages and help struggling families, including immigrant families, enter the middle class.”
He told the lawmakers, “It is a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially…Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens rely upon”.
“I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: to improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nation’s security, and to restore respect for our laws,” he said.