Biden lifts travel ban on citizens of eight countries
Joe Biden signed 15 executive orders in his first hours in the White House. He brought the United States back into the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization, and lifted a travel ban on citizens of eight countries, including Iran.
On his first day in the White House, Joe Biden signed 15 executive orders and repealed many of Trump's orders, including a ban on citizens of eight countries entering the United States, including Iran, and the construction of a border wall with Mexico.
In 2017, the Donald Trump administration banned citizens of Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Venezuela, Chad, and North Korea from traveling to the United States, countries that are mostly Muslim.
The order faced much opposition in the United States, and finally two years later, the United States Supreme Court agreed to implement a modified version in which the word "travel ban" was changed to "strong control", with the aim of "protecting the national interests" of the United States.
The new US president has also brought the country back into the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization. Leading US virologist Antonio Fauci will represent the country at a WHO summit on Thursday, January 21.
After the outbreak of the coronavirus, former US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization in protest of its performance in combating the coronavirus pandemic.
"We will tackle climate change in a way we have never done before," Biden said when signing an executive order returning the United States to the Paris climate agreement. Biden also announced that the US economy would be environmentally friendly by 2050.
The United States' re-entry into the agreement will be officially approved by the United Nations 30 days after Biden signs it.
In 2017, Trump withdrew the United States from this important climate treaty, which was signed after much effort in 2015.
In his first hours as US President, Joe Biden signed other orders to protect the environment. He issued an executive order to halt oil extraction in Alaska's protected area and to block the continuation of construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.
The order, of course, angered Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who wants the pipeline built. He said he was “disappointed” by Biden’s decision, but at the same time said he would work with the new US president to combat environmental pollution.
Trudeau will also be the first political leader to congratulate Biden on his inauguration by phone. The conversation is scheduled for Friday, January 22.
Biden also on Wednesday canceled a panel that Trump had appointed in the final months of his presidency to “teach patriotism in schools.”
Last summer, amid the debate, protests, and unrest over systemic racial discrimination in America, Donald Trump announced the formation of a commission to “teach patriotism” in schools. This was called “political propaganda” by historians and experts.
Source: DW
