Revised travel ban mostly panned in refugee friendly Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah refugee officials and Muslim advocates say President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban doesn’t alleviate their concerns with an initiative they contend unfairly targets refugees and Muslim countries.

Noor Ul-Hasan, a leader in Utah’s Muslim community, said Monday that federal officials should focus on figuring out if there are ways to strengthen an already strenuous refugee vetting process rather than singling out Muslim countries.

Aden Batar, director of immigration and refugee resettlement for Catholic Community Services of Utah, says refugees are stuck in dangerous countries. He says his organization will likely have to lay off workers due to the temporary halt of refugee entries.

Republican U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, though, says in a statement that the revised ban makes significant progress toward minimizing impacts on innocent travelers and refugees fleeing violence and persecution.