Trump's Ban on Muslims Breached:

British Dual Citizens Will Now Be Allowed into US

Rasa - Britain secured assurances from the White House that the vast majority of UK citizens will be exempted from Donald Trump's immigration ban.

News ID: 426975

Date: 30 January 2017 - 21:43

RNA - Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, has been told by some of Donald Trump's closest advisers that British citizens will be allowed to continue to travel from the UK to the US, the Telegraph reported.

It comes after the US president provoked a backlash after signing an executive order banning people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from travelling to the US.

The Prime Minister condemned the policy and told Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, to contact their US counterparts and "fight for the rights" of British citizens.

It has now emerged that Johnson has been told by some of Trump's closest advisers that the ban will only apply to those flying to the US directly from the seven nations.

Johnson spoke directly to Steve Bannon, the White House chief strategist, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, in a bid to secure protections for British citizens.

The approach will exempt the majority of the hundreds of thousands of Britons with dual nationality from one of the seven countries from being hit by the ban.

May had initially refused to condemn the policy, but on Sunday the Number 10 position hardened and she instructed her ministers to negotiate with their US counterparts.

President Trump has been confronted with a global backlash over his controversial immigration order amid calls by MPs to retract the Queen's offer of a state visit to the UK.

The Government earlier criticized the measure, calling it "divisive", but the Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for Trump's state visit to Britain in the summer to be cancelled.

It comes as a federal judge in New York issued an emergency order temporarily barring the US from deporting people from nations subject to Trump's travel ban.

Despite worldwide outrage the US president has defended the measure, insisting it is "not a Muslim ban... but is working very nicely".

There have been widespread protests throughout America on as well as global condemnation for the ban, which has seen people refused entry at US border controls and turned away from boarding flights.

David Gauke, the Government's chief secretary to the Treasury, has described the measures as "divisive" and suggested they could fuel terrorism.

A senior Homeland Security official said that roughly 375 travelers had been affected by the order so far. Out of the 375, 109 were in transit to the US and denied entry. Another 173 people were stopped by airlines from boarding an aircraft to the US. An additional 81 travelers with green cards or special immigrant visas received waivers.

Civil rights and faith groups, activists and Democratic politicians were furious and vowed to fight the order.

Capping a day of confusion and chaos and protests in several airports across the country, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, granted a temporary reprieve. The American Civil Liberties Union successfully argued for a temporary stay that allowed detained travelers to stay in the United States.

The court action does not reverse Trump's order, which was criticized by some of America's closest allies.

Along with Syria, the ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The order "affects a minor portion of international travelers," the department said in a statement, saying the measures "inconvenienced" less than one percent of travelers.

The new rules blindsided people in transit and families waiting for them, and caused havoc for businesses with employees holding passports from the targeted nations and colleges with international students.

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