NEW YORK — President Donald Trump was barely in office when he signed an executive order restricting immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations. There was not a moment to waste, he said, because any delay would allow the “bad dudes” to rush into the U.S.
Then federal courts struck down his ban. The White House said a new version would be coming.
That was a month ago. The urgency seems to have faded.
There has been no further legal appeal. And announcement of a replacement order has been repeatedly postponed, a reflection of legal difficulties, shifting administration priorities and politics. It now won’t be unveiled until next week at the earliest, says a White House official.
“The holdup flies in the face of the mythology as to why they needed to rush the bill in the first place,” said Doris Meissner, who was head of the Immigration and Naturalization Service for President Bill Clinton. “It was a contrived argument and a reflection of inexperience and a rush to fulfill a campaign promise.”
The delay stands in stark contrast to the ban’s rollout, a swift action designed as the centerpiece of a barrage of executive orders to set a bold tone for the Trump administration’s first days.
Trump signed it late on a Friday afternoon, prompting widespread protests at the nation’s airports while hardening battle lines between the president’s supporters and opponents. But the rushed order, composed with little outside consultation, drew fierce bipartisan criticism as federal agencies, foreign governments and travelers were left confused to its contents, creating chaos at airports and leaving the White House to defend the rollout by saying that its speed was necessary.
“If we waited five days, 10 days, six months to begin establishing the first series of controls, we would be leaving the homeland unnecessarily vulnerable,” said senior policy adviser Stephen Miller who, along with chief strategist Steve Bannon, was the architect of the ban.
Shifting priorities
But the unveiling of a new order has been postponed at least three times since then, and the White House has shifted its tone on the ban — in part by not talking about it.
Shifting priorities, Trump has spent more time at events meant to boost his economic agenda and on Thursday appeared on an aircraft carrier to tout his plans for a military buildup. During his first speech to Congress on Tuesday, he did not specifically mention the ban, merely saying that the administration “will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe.”
After Trump received high marks for that speech, aides scuttled plans to sign the new travel ban the next day, not wanting the controversial measure to overtake some of the best headlines of the young administration.
