US President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was necessary to protect against "foreign terrorists" and other security threats.
The directive is part of an immigration crackdown launched by Trump this year at the start of his second term, which also included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members and efforts to deny enrollment to some foreign students and deport others.
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.
"We will not allow people into our country who want to harm us," Trump said in a video posted on the social media platform X. He said the list could be revised and new countries could be added.
The proclamation takes effect on June 9, 2025, at 00:01 EDT (06:01 Central European Time). Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.
During his first term, Trump announced a travel ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, a policy that went through several revisions before being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Former US President Joseph Biden, the Democrat who succeeded Trump, lifted the ban on citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen in 2021, calling it "a stain on our national conscience."
Trump said the countries subject to the strictest restrictions are determined to harbor a "large terrorist presence," are uncooperative on visa security, lack the ability to verify travelers' identities, have inadequate criminal records, and have high visa overstay rates in the United States.
"We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably screen those who want to enter the United States," Trump said.
As an example of why the new restrictions are needed, he cited Sunday's incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which a man threw a Molotov cocktail into a crowd of pro-Israel protesters.
An Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabri Soliman, has been charged with the attack. Federal officials said Soliman overstayed his tourist visa and had an expired work permit - even though Egypt is not on the list of countries facing travel restrictions.
Somalia immediately promised to cooperate with the US on resolving security issues.
"Somalia values its long-standing relationship with the United States and is ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised," Dahir Hasan Abdi, Somalia's ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, responded last night, describing the US government as fascist and warning Venezuelans in the US.
"The truth is that being in the US is a great risk for everyone, not just Venezuelans... They are persecuting our compatriots, our people for no reason," he said.
A spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban-led foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how it would deal with the thousands of Afghans waiting in Islamabad who were scheduled to be resettled in the US.
Calls to a spokesman for Myanmar's military government were not returned early this morning.
The Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump has advocated for a tough border strategy and outlined his plan in a speech in October 2023, promising to restrict entry of people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and "anywhere else that threatens our security."
On January 20, Trump issued an executive order requiring enhanced security screening of all foreigners seeking entry into the United States to detect threats to national security.
The order directed several cabinet members to submit a list of countries from which travel should be partially or completely suspended because their "verification and screening information is grossly inadequate."
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