Trump travel ban barring citizens from 12 countries takes effect

The US president said the list could be revised if “material improvements” were made, while other countries could be added as “threats emerge around the world”.

Nationals from a further seven countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will face partial travel restrictions.

The order, which Trump signed last week, restricts the nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the US.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping new travel ban which bars citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States came into effect at 00:00 ET (05:00 BST) on Monday.

It is the second time Trump has ordered a ban on travel from certain countries. He signed a similar order in 2017 during his first term in office.

The White House said these “common sense restrictions” would “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”.

In a video posted to his Truth Social website last week, Trump said the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado “underscored the extreme dangers” posed by foreign nationals who had not been “properly vetted”.

Twelve people were injured in Colorado on 1 June when a man attacked a group gathering in support of Israeli hostages. The FBI called it a suspected terror attack and said the suspect had used a makeshift flamethrower, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices.

The man accused of carrying out the attack was identified as an Egyptian national, but Egypt has not been included on the list of banned countries.

Trump’s latest order, which is likely to face legal challenges, drew a swift response, at home and abroad.

Chad retaliated by suspending all visas to US citizens while Somalia promised to work with the US to address security issues.

The African Union, which represents all countries on the continent, called on the US to “engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned”.

In the US, Democrats were quick to condemn the move.

“This ban, expanded from Trump’s Muslim ban in his first term, will only further isolate us on the world stage,” Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal wrote on social media.

But others support the ban.

Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana told the BBC that travel to the US was “a privilege, not a right”.

US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new travel ban came into effect immediately after midnight, barring citizens from a dozen nations from entering the United States and reviving a divisive measure from his first term.

The move is expected to disrupt refugee pathways and further restrict immigration as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on illegal entries.

Many of the nations covered by the restrictions have adversarial relations with the United States, such as Iran and Afghanistan, while others face severe crises, like Haiti and Libya.

In announcing his restrictions last week, Mr Trump said the new measure was spurred by a recent “terrorist attack” on Jews in Colorado.

Watch: Donald Trump announces travel ban on citizens from 12 countries

The group had been protesting in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza when they were assaulted by a man the White House said had overstayed his visa.

That attack, Mr Trump said, “underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted” or who overstay their visas.

The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House.

Mr Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed.

New countries could be added, Mr Trump warned, “as threats emerge around the world.”

Mehria, a 23-year-old woman from Afghanistan who applied for refugee status, said the new rules have trapped her and many other Afghans in uncertainty.

“We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives… on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another,” she told said.

World Cup, Olympics, diplomats excluded

The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, or in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Mr Trump’s order said.

Nor will it apply to diplomats from the targeted countries.

United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned that “the broad and sweeping nature of the new travel ban raises concerns from the perspective of international law.”

Democrats blasted the ban as draconian and unconstitutional.

“I know the pain that Trump’s cruel and xenophobic travel bans inflict because my family has felt it firsthand,” congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who is Iranian-American, posted on X.

“We will fight this ban with everything we have.”

Rumours of a new travel ban had circulated following the Colorado attack, with Mr Trump’s administration vowing to pursue “terrorists” living in the United States on visas.

US officials said suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national according to court documents, was in the country illegally having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022.

Mr Trump’s new travel ban notably does not include Egypt.

His proclamation said Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen lacked “competent” central authorities for processing passports and vetting.

Iran was included because it is a “state sponsor of terrorism,” the order said.

For the other countries, Mr Trump’s order cited an above-average likelihood that people would overstay their visas.

US President Donald Trump’s new travel ban, affecting citizens from 12 countries, took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday. This move is part of a broader immigration policy aimed at safeguarding the nation from what Trump describes as ‘foreign terrorists.’ Countries under the ban include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

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In addition to the full ban, Trump has imposed partial travel restrictions on seven other nations: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. These restrictions involve limitations on various visa categories due to high visa overstay rates and insufficient cooperation with US law enforcement.

Trump has justified the bans by citing security risks, including a recent incident in Colorado involving an Egyptian national, although Egypt is not on the banned list. He stated, “I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people.” Critics argue the ban predominantly affects African and Muslim-majority nations, echoing sentiments from similar past measures. Some geopolitical experts questioned his decision to include Myanmar but leave Pakistan out of the list.

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Chad’s President, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, announced a retaliatory measure, ceasing the issuance of visas to US citizens. He stated, “Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride.”

Geostrategist Brahma Chellaney said, “Trump’s entry ban on visitors from 12 countries includes Myanmar (where the US is aiding anti-junta rebels), but excludes terrorism-hub Pakistan, indicating his embrace of the Deep State approach to India’s neighborhood,”

The White House asserted that the proclamation ‘fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries found to be deficient with regard to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States.’

Critics, including Democratic lawmakers, label the ban draconian and unconstitutional. US Representative Ro Khanna commented, “Trump’s travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional. People have a right to seek asylum.”

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The travel ban is a continuation of Trump’s immigration policies from his first term, which barred travellers from several Muslim-majority countries. This latest action is seen as a return to strict immigration controls, potentially impacting international relations and individuals seeking entry for various purposes.

President Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the US by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement.

The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don’t hold a valid visa.

The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all US diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Travellers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the US even after the ban takes effect.

While many of the listed countries send few people to the United States, Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela had been major sources of immigration in recent years.

Haitian-American Elvanise Louis-Juste, who was at the airport Sunday in Newark, New Jersey, awaiting a flight to her home state of Florida, said many Haitians wanting to come to the US are simply seeking to escape violence and unrest. Haitians continue to flee poverty and hunger while police and a UN-backed mission fight a surge in gang violence, with armed men controlling at least 85% of its capital, Port-au-Prince.

“I have family in Haiti, so it’s pretty upsetting to see and hear,” Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. “I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think it’s very upsetting.”

Many immigration experts say the new ban is designed to beat court challenges by focusing on the visa application process and appears more carefully crafted than a hastily written executive order during Trump’s first term that denied entry to citizens of mainly Muslim countries.

Trump said this time that some countries had “deficient” screening for passports and other public documents or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. He relied extensively on an annual Homeland Security report of people who remain in the US after their visas expired.

Measuring overstay rates has challenged experts for decades, but the government has made a limited attempt annually since 2016. Trump’s proclamation cites overstay rates for eight of the 12 banned countries.

Trump also tied the new ban to a terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. US officials say the man charged in the attack overstayed a tourist visa. He is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restricted list.

The ban was quickly denounced by groups that provide aid and resettlement help to refugees.

“This policy is not about national security – it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international relief organisation.

The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban does make exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the US government during the two-decade-long war there.

Afghanistan had been one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement his first day in office.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)