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Trump Seeks a ‘Stricter’ Travel Ban | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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US President Donald Trump REUTERS/Eric Thayer


Washington – US President Donald Trump on Monday called for a stricter version of the travel ban and a hearing session before the Supreme Court.

In a series of morning tweets on his official Twitter account, Trump described the revised travel ban as a “watered down” version of the first and criticized the way the Justice Department handled the case.

He said ” We are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the US in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!”

In another tweet, Trump tweeted that The Justice Department should have stayed with the “original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted” to Supreme Court adding that the Justice Department “should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!”

In a rare move, the Supreme Court expedited consideration of the case, ordering on Friday the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the plaintiffs, to respond by June 12 to the Trump administration’s petition for court consideration.

Once the high court receives the response, it could quickly rule on whether to take up the case. The order came just one day after the Trump administration asked the court to reinstate its temporary ban on travelers from six Muslim majority nations.

Trump issued his initial travel ban by executive order but that measure banning the entry of citizens from seven countries Syria, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, and Libya for 90 days and suspended the nation’s refugee program for 120 days.

In March, a revised version of the executive order was issued, deleted Iraq from the list, and removed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees.

The order was widely criticized within the US since it was first announced, especially by activists. The executive order caused controversy whether it is called a travel ban or not. US spokesperson refused the name, but in his tweets, Trump insisted on calling the measure a “travel ban.”

“People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!” he tweeted.