Trump Signs Travel Ban 2.0 (Executive Order 13780) - Revised Muslim Ban After Courts Block Original

President Trump signed Executive Order 13780 on March 6, 2017—“Travel Ban 2.0”—revising his original Muslim ban after federal courts blocked Executive Order 13769. The new order placed a 90-day restriction on entry to the U.S. by nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and barred entry for all refugees lacking valid travel documents for 120 days.

The revised ban attempted to address legal deficiencies in the original order by removing Iraq from the banned countries list (following Pentagon objections about abandoning Iraqi translators who helped U.S. forces) and exempting travelers with valid visas. However, the core discriminatory purpose remained: targeting Muslim-majority countries based on nationality rather than actual security threats.

Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin immediately characterized the new order: “This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0. Under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees.” On March 15, 2017—just nine days after Trump signed the order—U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson issued a temporary restraining order blocking key provisions, determining the executive order was likely motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment and thus violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution.

Judge Watson’s ruling cited Trump’s campaign statements calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” and advisor Rudy Giuliani’s admission that Trump asked him “how to do a Muslim ban legally.” These statements demonstrated the order’s discriminatory religious intent despite Trump’s attempts to frame it as national security policy.

Travel Ban 2.0 demonstrated Trump’s pattern of persisting in unconstitutional actions despite court rebukes, making cosmetic changes while maintaining the underlying discriminatory purpose. The ban would be revised again (Travel Ban 3.0) before the Supreme Court ultimately upheld a version in 2018, legitimizing religious discrimination under the guise of presidential national security authority.