President Donald Trump banned all travel from a dozen countries, citing national security concerns.
In a Wednesday night proclamation, Trump banned travel from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The proclamation provided a detailed breakdown of the reasoning for each.
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Trump said the 12 countries were selected as part of a detailed joint vetting process performed by State Secretary Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,” Trump said. “I remain committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks. Nationals of some countries also pose significant risks of overstaying their visas in the United States, which increases burdens on immigration and law enforcement components of the United States, and often exacerbates other risks related to national security and public safety.”
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Trump attempted to ban travel from a handful of countries during his first term, a highly controversial move that triggered a lengthy legal battle. Every country he tried to ban travel from during his first administration was majority Muslim, causing the move to be labeled a “Muslim ban.”
Notably, only eight of the 12 countries listed in the most recent iteration are majority Muslim, with the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Haiti being majority Christian and Myanmar being majority Buddhist.