Washington — US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the US, saying the move was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
The directive is part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrolments of some foreign students and deport others.
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela — will be partially restricted.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on X. He said the list could be revised and new countries could be added.
The proclamation is effective on June 9 at 4.01am GMT. Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.
The AU’s Commission expressed concern on Thursday about the potential negative impact of the new travel ban on educational exchanges, commercial engagement and broader diplomatic relations.
“The AU Commission respectfully calls upon the US administration to consider adopting a more consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned,” it said.
Repealed ban
During his first, 2017-21 term in office, Trump announced a ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority 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Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed that ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience”.
Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbour a “large-scale presence of terrorists”, fail to co-operate on visa security, have an inability to verify travellers’ identities as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the US.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the US,” Trump said.
He cited Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which a man tossed a petrol bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs 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 — though Egypt is not on the list of countries facing travel limits.
Address concerns
Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address security issues.
“Somalia values its long-standing relationship with the US and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the US, said.
Venezuelan interior minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, responded on Wednesday evening by describing the US government as fascist and warning Venezuelans against being in the US.
“The truth is being in the US is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans…. They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”
A spokesperson for the Taliban-led Afghan foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on how it would handle the thousands of Afghans waiting in Islamabad who had been in the pipeline for US resettlement.
Calls early on Thursday to the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government were not answered.
The travel ban threatens to upend a 31-year-old Myanmar teacher’s plan to join a US state department exchange programme, which was slated to start in September.
“It is not easy to apply nor get accepted as we needed several recommendation letters,” said the teacher, who now lives in Thailand and asked not to be named because her visa application is still outstanding.
“In my case, I would get to work at universities that provide digital education,” she said, adding that she had not been updated by the programme after Trump’s announcement.
Intensified vetting
Trump’s presidential campaign focused on a tough border strategy and he previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security”.
Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats.
The latest travel restrictions were first reported by CBS News.
Reuters
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