Donald Trump said Friday after the latest terror attack in London that his controversial six-nation travel ban should be broadened and made ‘tougher.’
The latest version of his travel ban, initially announced in a botched late-January rollout, calls for a ban on people entering the U.S. from a short list of terror-prone countries that are also Muslim-majority nations.
It also bars the entry of most refugees from anywhere in the world.
‘The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific – but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!’ Trump tweeted Friday.
Donald Trump blasted political correctness after Friday morning’s London subway bombing as he insisted his travel ban ‘should be far larger, tougher and more specific’
People from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are currently being kept out of the U.S. unless they already have a ‘bona fide’ family member living in America
Trump vented on Friday after claiming that Scotland Yard missed an opportunity to catch the subway bombers
The president weighed in as police in and around London carried out a manhunt for the person or persons who set off a crude incendiary bomb on a subway car during Friday’s morning rush hour.
He also tied his demand for a more robust travel ban to an unusual claim that Scotland Yard was familiar with Friday’s bombers ahead of time and missed the chance to catch them before he launched the attack.
‘Another attack in London by a loser terrorist,’ Trump tweeted. ‘These are sick and demented people who were in the sights of Scotland Yard. Must be proactive!’
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments to decide the travel ban’s constitutionality in October.
But the high court justices allowed the ban to go into effect last month while the case is pending.
Federal court challenges have resulted in exceptions being made for travelers who already have established ties to the U.S., including a broad definition of what counts as a ‘bona fide’ close family member.
A photograph of a flaming white bucket taken just after it exploded around 8:20 a.m. on Friday shows wires protruding out of the top and onto the subway car’s floor
Flames engulfed one subway car and raced along a train on a west London route, forcing passengers to trample each other as they rushed for an exit
Supreme Court justices are scheduled to hear arguments on October 10 about the constitutionality of Trump’s travel ban, which has become a constant source of protests
On September 7 a federal court in San Francisco, the liberal-leaning 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, rejected the Trump administration’s limited view of who is allowed into the United States under the travel ban.
‘The government does not offer a persuasive explanation for why a mother-in-law is clearly a bona fide relationship … but a grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or cousin is not,’ the 9th Circuit said.
The same court ruled that refugees accepted by a resettlement agency should be allowed to sidestep the White House’s broad ban, opening the door for as many as 24,000 refugees to enter the country before the end of October.
The administration rushed to the Supreme Court to block that portion of the 9th Circuit’s ruling – and got what it asked for.
The high court blocked the lower court’s ruling on Tuesday, pending its own October 10 hearing that will cover the entire travel ban.
The court may not have much to decide by the time that happens.
The Trump administration’s original policy called for a 90-day travel ban – which will be over in late September – and a 120-day refugee ban which will expire a month later.