The Brief A new order preventing entry to the United States for people from 12 countries and limiting access from nine others is now in effect. The president said the travel rules are about national security and stopping terrorism. Despite the president’s assertion that the travel restrictions are needed to protect U.S. citizens, some are questioning them.

A ban preventing access to the United States for some and restricting visits to others is now in effect.

Restrictions began at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

Big picture view:

Announced last week, President Donald Trump’s order fully suspends nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the U.S.

The order also includes partial suspensions for nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Some exemptions exist, including for athletes and coaches traveling for the Olympics and World Cup, as well as their immediate families.

What they’re saying:

The president said the travel rules are about national security and stopping terrorism.

“I directed the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, to identify countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries,” the president wrote in a proclination.

Overstay rates from these nations were used in making the decision.

Trump also said that some of the countries listed have weak or hostile governments.

“We want to keep bad people out of our country,” the president said.

The other side:

Despite the president’s assertion that the travel restrictions are needed to protect U.S. citizens, some are questioning them.

Ruby Robinson, an attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, compared it to the so-called “Muslim ban” from Trump’s first term.

“We are not shocked, nor are we necessarily surprised by the fact that it has arrived,” Robinson said. “I think many of us was expecting it.”

Robinson called on Congress to step up and work on immigration reform.