Trump privately signs new travel ban
President Donald Trump has signed a revised travel ban that temporarily halts entry to the US for people from six Muslim-majority nations who are seeking new visas.
That's according to White House spokesman Michael Short, who says the signing was done privately.
The new directive aims to address legal issues with the original order, which caused confusion at airports, sparked protests around the country and was ultimately blocked by federal courts.
Trump's new travel ban was signed in private. Picture: Twitter
The revised order is narrower and specifies that a 90-day ban on people from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen does not apply to those who already have valid visas.
The White House also dropped Iraq from the list of banned countries.
Trump privately signed the new order on Monday (US time) while Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally unveiled the new edict.
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The low-key rollout was a contrast to the first version of the order, signed in a high-profile ceremony at the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes as Secretary of Defense James Mattis stood by Trump's side.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was not scheduled to hold an on-camera briefing on Monday either, leading to the appearance that the president was distancing himself from the order, which was a signature issue during his campaign and the first days of his presidency.
The order also risks being overshadowed by unsubstantiated accusations the president made over the weekend that former President Barack Obama had ordered the wiretapping of his phone during the campaign.
The original travel ban caused immediate panic and chaos at airports around the country as Homeland Security officials scrambled to interpret how it was to be implemented and travellers were detained before being sent back overseas or blocked from getting on planes abroad.
