Golly gosh. Sounds like the new immigration ban is not going to affect existing green cards and visas.
They figured it out. New permissions and old ones are different worlds. He can easily control new issuance of visas and permanent residency permits via new volume criteria. What Obama raised, Trump can lower. He can also change easily enough the type of vetting required to try to remove bad apples from the cart.
But previously issued documents are fraught with constitutional and common law complications. People who live in the US are protected by the constitution. As are folks who are moving in and out of the US on the strength of their visas - even when they are out of the country. A Microsoft worker travelling for business reasons may seek constitutional protection to return to their US home.
The president has broad powers but not absolute ones under INA. INA, like all other statutes, is subject to constitutional constraints. The first immigration ban is doomed. But the replacement one will likely survive, although I doubt an EO is needed to make its provisions happen. It's more a face-saving exercise now.
It also sounds like Iraq will be excluded from the ban for political reasons. If terrorism was the main concern, I am not sure why Iraq is excluded. Or West European countries for that matter. Think shoe bomber etc.
On the ban side of the ledger, the Iran expat community which emigrated after the Shah's regime fell is also very large. I wonder how the US will treat such people. They are surely a huge asset.
| 
