In a joint statement issued Sunday, Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona expressed concern that Donald Trump’s temporary ban on individuals from seven Middle Eastern and North African countries from entering the United States would prohibit the Iraqi military from training here. “At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona [to train] to fight our common enemies,” McCain and Graham said.
But a White House official says that’s not accurate. “All such admissions are in the national interest and would qualify for admission,” the White House official tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD in an email. The executive order issued by Trump includes this exception (emphasis added): “Notwithstanding a suspension pursuant to subsection (c) of this section or pursuant to a Presidential proclamation described in subsection (e) of this section, the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security may, on a case-by-case basis, and when in the national interest, issue visas or other immigration benefits to nationals of countries for which visas and benefits are otherwise blocked.”
