US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, claiming the measure is necessary to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
The countries facing complete travel bans are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Additionally, seven other nations – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will face partial entry restrictions.
The travel restrictions, first reported by CBS News, will take effect on June 9, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (5:01 WAT). According to the order, visas issued before that date will not be cancelled.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter). He indicated that the list could be revised and new countries could be added in future.
This marks a return to similar policies from Trump’s first presidency, when he announced restrictions on travellers from seven majority-Muslim nations in 2017. That controversial policy went through several versions before being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed those restrictions in 2021, calling them “a stain on our national conscience.”
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Trump stated that the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbour a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, and have an inability to verify travellers’ identities. He also cited inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States as reasons for the ban.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump said.
He pointed to Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado, where a man threw a petrol bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators, as an example of why the new restrictions are needed.
An Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, has been charged in the attack. Federal officials said Soliman had overstayed his tourist visa and had an expired work permit, although Egypt is not on the list of countries facing travel limits.
Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address security concerns following the announcement.
“Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” said Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, in a statement.
However, Venezuela responded more defiantly. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, described the US government as fascist on Wednesday evening and warned Venezuelans about being in America.
“The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans … They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”
