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U.S. President Donald Trump signed a new order banning travel from several countries, saying it is needed to keep America safe. The ban completely stops people from 12 countries from entering the U.S. These countries are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Seven other countries such as Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela will face some travel limits, but not a full ban.
“I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,” Trump said in his proclamation.
According to the White House, these nations do not meet the U.S.’s security checks and could pose serious risks. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson posted on X that Trump is keeping his word to protect Americans from possible threats.
“President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said on X. The countries facing the total ban were found “to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States,” according to a statement provided by the White House.
The White House justified the restrictions, citing Afghanistan’s Taliban control, Iran and Cuba’s state-sponsored terrorism, and Haiti’s influx of illegal migrants during the Biden administration. Countries like Chad (49.54% B1/B2 visa overstay rate) and Eritrea (55.43% F/M/J overstay rate) were flagged for disregarding US immigration laws.
During his first term, Trump issued an executive order in January 2017 banning travel to the US by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on their flights to the US or detained at US airports after they landed. They included students and faculty as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family.
That move was challenged in court but was finally approved by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. President Joe Biden canceled that ban when he took office in 2021, calling it unfair and wrong.
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