Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

U.S. Government Makes It Official: Canadian Passport-Holders Excused From Ban

The Canadian Press, 31 Jan, 2017 11:15 AM
    WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has provided some clarity: Canadian passport-holders have the right to travel to the United States, despite days of confusing, contradictory messages about Donald Trump's travel restrictions.
     
    Four days after the order was announced, the American administration held its first detailed news conference Tuesday shedding light on who can still travel to the U.S. and who can't — at least not until the order is reviewed in a few months.
     
    The U.S. government confirmed publicly what it has privately told the Canadian government: that citizens of non-affected countries, including dual citizens, are exempt by the travel freeze on seven majority-Muslim countries.
     
    It was a relevant question for about 35,000 Canadians. That's how many have dual citizenship with the seven affected countries, and some of those Canadians may have jobs, families, and homes in the U.S.
     
    "Travellers will be assessed at our border based on the passport they present — not any dual national status. So if you're a citizen of the United Kingdom, you present your United Kingdom passport," said Kevin McAleenan, acting commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.
     
    "The executive order does not apply to you."
     
    He made those remarks next to his boss, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. The newly named cabinet secretary said the order will be followed humanely.
     
    Early accounts were laden with confusion.
     
     
    The State Department stated that it applied to dual citizens. Some officials suggested it might also ban permanent U.S. residents. Those mixed messages sowed concern around the globe.
     
    Airports were hit with protests, as hundreds of travellers were detained. McAleenan said about 721 travellers were denied the right to board planes among the 500,000 non-Americans travelling to the U.S.
     
    The order still applies to temporary visitors with visas. Visa holders will be denied the right to board flights to the U.S., and sent to State Department representatives for additional instruction.
     
    The order could be temporary, and will be reviewed in several months.
     
     
    Kelly pushed back at reports that he and other officials were frozen out of the drafting of the order, and that the process was led by highly partisan staff around Trump without legal or national-security qualifications.
     
    Kelly said he saw two early drafts of the order. In recent days, he said, staffers kept him informed of changes.
     
    "I relied on people... to say, 'Okay, we've got it, boss... this looks good to us,' and we're off to the races," Kelly said.
     
    "I did not look at it from the perspective of... correcting the grammar or saying, you know, we need to change these words or do this thing. People that know the immigration process infinitely better than I do... were the ones that did the staff work."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    B.C. Councillor Resigns After Suing Daughter For Going Public About Alleged Sex Abuse

    B.C. Councillor Resigns After Suing Daughter For Going Public About Alleged Sex Abuse
    Mayor Karl Buhr of Lions Bay confirmed in a statement posted on the village website on Thursday that he had accepted Eileen Wilke's resignation.

    B.C. Councillor Resigns After Suing Daughter For Going Public About Alleged Sex Abuse

    B.C.'s Environment Minister Suspends Permit For Soil Dumping Near Shawnigan Lake

    B.C.'s Environment Minister Suspends Permit For Soil Dumping Near Shawnigan Lake
    VICTORIA — B.C.'s environment ministry is threatening to revoke a permit for the company operating a controversial dumping site for contaminated soil on Vancouver Island.

    B.C.'s Environment Minister Suspends Permit For Soil Dumping Near Shawnigan Lake

    Highway Of Tears Bus Starts Rolling On 30-minute Trips In B.C.'s Northwest

    Highway Of Tears Bus Starts Rolling On 30-minute Trips In B.C.'s Northwest
    The service that starts Monday is along a small section of Highway 16, the route that stretches between Prince George and Prince Rupert where 18 women have disappeared or been murdered since the 1970s.

    Highway Of Tears Bus Starts Rolling On 30-minute Trips In B.C.'s Northwest

    Government Gives More Time To Comment On Nuclear-Waste Bunker

    OTTAWA — The public now has an extra two weeks to comment on a report on a nuclear-waste bunker proposed for near Lake Huron.

    Government Gives More Time To Comment On Nuclear-Waste Bunker

    Maple Batalia Murder: Gursimar Bedi Sentenced To 18 Month In Jail

    Maple Batalia Murder: Gursimar Bedi Sentenced To 18 Month In Jail
    Nineteen-year-old Batalia was shot and killed in a parking lot at a Simon Fraser University campus after a late-night study session.

    Maple Batalia Murder: Gursimar Bedi Sentenced To 18 Month In Jail

    More Gun Violence In Surrey: 36-Yr-Old Hershan 'Shawn' Bains Found Shot Dead In A Car

    More Gun Violence In Surrey: 36-Yr-Old Hershan 'Shawn' Bains Found Shot Dead In A Car
    RCMP say they are uncertain whether the latest homicide victim in Surrey, B.C., is linked to several targeted shootings in the province this week.

    More Gun Violence In Surrey: 36-Yr-Old Hershan 'Shawn' Bains Found Shot Dead In A Car