President Donald Trump has decided to prohibit travellers from 12 specific countries from entering the United States while also imposing partial entry limitations on seven additional nations.
The move is the latest in Trump’s efforts to secure America’s borders.
Individuals from Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen will be denied entry to the United States as per the new announcement.
Further to that ban, citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted from traveling.
‘We don’t want ’em,’ Trump said in a video released shortly after the ban was announced.
‘Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.’
Trump cited the recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado as an example of why such a ban is a necessary step to keep Americans safe.
An undocumented immigrant, who allegedly overstayed his visa, is now detained on charges of attacking a group of pro-Israel demonstrators with firebombs. The group was assembled to pay tribute to hostages currently held captive in Gaza by Hamas forces.
President Donald Trump is banning visitors from 12 countries from entering the United States and partially restricted access to travelers from seven other nations
Trump cited the recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado as an example of why such a ban is a necessary step to keep Americans safe
Trump said the tragedy ‘underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.
‘We’ve seen one terror attack after another from foreign visa overstayers… thanks to Biden’s open door policies today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in this country.’
White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson confirmed the report on Wednesday evening, writing on X: ‘President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm.
‘These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information.
‘President Trump will ALWAYS act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety.’
During his first term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it ‘a stain on our national conscience.’
But Trump has not backed down, referring to the success of his initial 2017 travel bans in his proclamation.
During his first term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations
‘During my first Administration, I restricted the entry of foreign nationals into the United States, which successfully prevented national security threats from reaching our borders and which the Supreme Court upheld,’ the president wrote.
‘It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.
‘The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those aliens approved for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans or our national interests.
‘More importantly, the United States must identify such aliens before their admission or entry into the United States.
The move is the latest in Trump’s efforts to secure America’s borders
‘The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security.’
Trump said the list is ‘subject to revision’ if nations work toward improving the vetting system of their nationals.
Similarly, other nations can be added to the list if Trump later believes they pose a risk to national security.
