Trump's New Travel Ban Admits His Failure

On Monday, President Donald Trump followed up on his promise to issue a new executive order on immigration after a temporary restraining order was upheld on his original order. The new travel ban is similar to the first one, but notably isn't quite as wide-ranging. In replacing the initial travel ban with this new order, Trump is admitting defeat on his first travel ban order, even if it's in an indirect way.

After the three U.S. appeals court judges ruled to uphold the temporary restraining order on the travel ban, Trump tweeted, "SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!" However, Trump did not see anyone in court. Instead, he decided to tone down his original order a bit and sign a new one.

In washing down the original ban, Trump and his administration have made some concessions. The new ban does not take effect immediately (it will start on March 16), and notably Iraq is not included in list of countries affected by the ban. Additionally, the new ban includes exceptions for green card holders, dual citizens, visa holders, and pre-approved refugees.

While there's still a lot that the ban does cover, this scaling back is significant because it implies that Trump wasn't confident that he could actually fight back against the resistance to the travel ban. Rather, he decided to go back and offer up a version that he and his team think will be more accepted.

The language of the new order also offers up some insight into the Trump administration's thinking. According to The Huffington Post, the new version does not talk about extreme vetting or rooting out radical Islamic terrorism.

The rollout of the news order was also significant. As Vox reported, Trump did not make the ordeal a flashy photo-op. Instead, he signed it and then sent out Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly to announce the new travel ban. And they refused to take any questions from the press regarding the new order.

Regardless of Trump's concessions when revising the order, the ban still does put a block on some immigration and refugee acceptance for several months. That basic principle has not changed. And groups like the ACLU are already speaking out about the danger of the ban. But it is a slight silver lining to know that all of the protests and push back toward the original travel ban made a difference and caused Trump to go back and revise his plans.