The White House’s upcoming revisions to President Trump’s Jan. 27 executive order on immigration will scratch Iraq as one of the countries that a temporary travel ban will effect.
Multiple U.S. officials on late Tuesday said the change is the result of pressure from the State and Defense Departments due to Iraq’s role in fighting the Islamic State in that country.
Trump delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening and is slated to announce the new executive order on Wednesday. The new document will replace actions that affected Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, who will remain on the list.
A number of blue states sued the Trump administration following the order, claiming it discriminated against countries based on religion since the seven nations were majority-Muslim. One lawsuit was upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and forced the Justice Department to rewrite the order.
