President Trump announced a new travel ban on Wednesday, affecting travelers from 12 countries and imposing partial restrictions on seven others. This ban will take effect on June 9.
The White House stated that the ban is necessary to protect the U.S. from potential terrorist threats and national security risks. Officials pointed out that the countries on the list lack adequate screening and vetting processes for travelers.
The full ban will apply to foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Meanwhile, the partial ban will affect individuals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
In a video statement, Trump referred to a recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, as a reason for the new restrictions. The suspect in that attack is from Egypt, which is not included in the ban.
Trump emphasized that many terror attacks in the U.S. have been linked to visa overstayers from high-risk countries. He believes this ban will help prevent such incidents.
The new travel ban follows an executive order Trump signed on his first day back in the White House. This order directed agencies to identify countries with insufficient vetting processes. Trump also expressed interest in reviewing the number of individuals from these countries who were admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration, hinting at possible retroactive visa suspensions.
This is not the first time Trump has implemented a travel ban. In December 2015, he called for a total shutdown of Muslim entry into the U.S. His first executive order on the topic was signed shortly after he took office in January 2017, targeting seven predominantly Muslim countries. That initial ban faced widespread protests and legal challenges, leading to revisions and a final version upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018, which expanded the list of banned countries.
On his first day in office in 2021, President Biden rescinded Trump’s travel ban, but the new restrictions signal a shift back to similar policies. Critics argue that these bans unfairly target specific countries and communities, raising concerns about their impact on individuals seeking refuge or reunification with family members in the U.S.