Trump’s Travel Ban Decision Could Spark Fresh Controversy

President Donald Trump is on the brink of new clashes with civil-rights advocates and entrepreneurs, facing a tight deadline this weekend for still pushing his current travel prohibition on six largely Muslim countries, Bloomberg reports.

In a response to the London terror attack last week, Trump gave a hint that he might broaden the prohibition expiring on Sunday. The action has already sparked sharp critique from corporate leaders, court challenges and internal strife in the White House, and a mere renewal of the ban would only restart controversy.

The president will likely present this decision and the next steps on Friday, according to two officials of his administration.

The Department of Homeland Security sent Trump a classified report last week with details on its review of the vetting process for people entering the U.S., in accordance with the March 6 executive order, said DHS spokesman David Lapan. The report was supposed to include a list of countries recommended for travel restrictions going forward. White House and DHS officials declined to provide details on the report.

“The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific,” Trump tweeted Sept. 15, hours after a homemade bomb on a city subway injured dozens. “But stupidly, that would not be politically correct!”

The current order bans entry by people from Iran, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Syria who have no “bona fide relationship” to the U.S.

“There could be many, many countries that end up on this list,” said Leon Rodriguez, a former director of Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Obama administration who’s now a partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

“That absolutely will open up more lawsuits.”

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