Topline
President Donald Trump issued a travel ban barring people in 12 countries—primarily from the Middle East and Afrida- rom visiting the U.S., attributing his proclamation to national security concerns and public safety.
The proclamation was made Wednesday evening. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump’s proclamation fully restricts travel from the countries of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Partial travel restrictions have also been placed on Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The travel restrictions apply to both immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the U.S., according to the proclamation.
Trump said he directed members of his Cabinet to identify countries with “deficient” vetting and screening information that warrants “a full or partial suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”
The proclamation cites visa overstay rates for most of the impacted countries and cites terrorism concerns with Iran, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Cuba and others.
Trump’s Cabinet will be in charge of submitting reports to Trump within 90 days of the date of the proclamation, and every 180 days after, recommending whether any of the travel suspensions or limitations should be “continued, terminated, modified, or supplemented.”
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The president’s order, outlines a series of exceptions to the travel ban, including any lawful permanent U.S. resident, dual nationals from the banned countries travelling on their other passport from a non-banned country, diplomats, athletes traveling for major sporting events, adopted individuals and people with immediate family immigrant visas with “convincing evidence” like DNA test results. Holders of Afghan Special Immigrant Visas—granted to Afghan nationals who worked with the U.S. government—and immigrant visa holders from “ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran,” are also exempted from the ban.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello warned his country’s citizens against traveling to the U.S., saying: “Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans.” Referring to the U.S. government as fascist, Cabello said: “They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.” Dahir Hassan Abdi, Somalia’s ambassador to the U.S. struck a more conciliatory note and told the New York Times: “Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised.”
In video posted on Truth Social, Trump said: “We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.” In the video, the the president cited the Sunday’s flamethrower attack on an event for Israeli hostages in Boulder by an Egyptian immigrant, saying it “underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country” by the entry of some foreign nationals. Trump’s, however, travel ban does not cover Egypt.
Trump instituted a similar travel ban during his first term in 2017, banning travel from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan and Yemen in what became known as the Muslim travel ban. The travel ban was challenged in court, though the Supreme Court later ruled in favor of the ban, which was expanded to cover North Korea and Venezuela and Chad. This week’s travel ban is one of several anti-immigration policies introduced by Trump during his second term. This year, the Trump administration has sought to ban international students from enrolling at Harvard University, ramped up mass deportation flights, declared a national emergency at the southern border and pulled thousands of visas from international students in the U.S.
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