President Joe Biden has begun his first day in office by reversing some actions of his predecessor, Donald Trump, by issuing an executive order to end Trump’s controversial travel ban on non-citizens from 13 countries.
The measure directs the State Department to resume visa processing for those countries and develop a plan to address people affected, such as those who were denied entry to the U.S.
The action also orders reviews of other “extreme vetting” practices used by the Trump administration, while directing the U.S. to improve information-sharing with foreign governments to bolster screening of travelers.
The ban that Biden ended blocked entry to most people from Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and North Korea. It also restricted immigrant visas for people from Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Eritrea as well as for certain others from Venezuela and Tanzania.