SAN DIEGO (CBS 8/ AP) - San Diegans are pushing back against President Trump's new, controversial travel ban aimed at preventing terrorists form entering the country.
The revised travel ban eases some of the legal questions surrounding the previous order, but critics said it does not answer all of them, including accusations that the measure is a thinly veiled attempt to discriminate against Muslims.
The new, narrower ban announced Monday temporarily bars new visas for citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries - one fewer than the original ban, with Iraq removed from the list. It also suspends the entire U.S. refugee program.
The measure applies only to refugees who are not already on their way to the United States and people seeking new visas. It removes language that gave priority to religious minorities. Critics said the language was designed to help Christians get into the U.S. and to exclude Muslims.
Somali-American Said Abiyow told CBS News 8 the president's revised travel ban is saying "we don't want you here," - not only those living in the six countries listed on the new executive order, but people who are law abiding U.S. Citizens and green card holders.
"Today we feel like we are not part of America," he said.
Abiyow is the president and CEO of the Somali Bantu Association of America in San Diego. Since the first travel ban six weeks ago, his City Heights office has been the target of hate crimes.
"People are driving by, throwing us bottles and saying, 'you are not entitled to this county,'" he told CBS News 8.
Mark Arabo, the founder of Minority Humanitarian Foundation said despite his family's home country, being taken of the list, the revised order is not even bitter sweet.
"We were hoping there would not be a ban. For me, personally it's more bitter because it's the wrong thing to do," he said.
Opponents promised to challenge the president again in court.
The order won't take effect until March 16 despite earlier warnings from Trump and his aides that any delay would put national security at risk by allowing the entry of "bad 'dudes'" who want to harm the country.
Trump's new order reinstates his four-month ban on all refugees from around the world and keeps in place his plan to reduce the number of refugees to be let into the United States this budget year to 50,000. Syrians are also no longer subjected to an indefinite ban, despite Trump's insistence as a candidate that they pose a serious security threat.