Trump removes Iraq from travel ban, cites Iraqis as justification for order anyway

President Trump.
(Image credit: Aude Guerrucci-Pool/Getty Images)

On Monday, President Trump issued a revised version of his executive order that temporarily restricts travel to the U.S. from a handful of majority Muslim countries. One of the major differences between Monday's order and the one blocked by a federal court six weeks ago is that Iraq has now been removed from the list of nations that face travel restrictions. In an interview Monday morning, Kellyanne Conway explained that Iraq has better "screening and reporting" than the other six nations on the list.

Perhaps what makes Iraq's exclusion so odd, though, is that the order still cites a pair of Iraqis as part of its justification for why a ban on Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen is necessary:

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.