In light of concerns regarding national security, President Donald Trump has enacted a new proclamation that prohibits citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States.
Nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen are impacted by the comprehensive travel ban.
The limitation will come into effect on June 9, 2025.
Alongside the total prohibitions, the proclamation establishes partial limitations on individuals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
According to the BBC, there are a few exceptions, such as athletes traveling for major sporting events, certain Afghan nationals, and dual nationals whose other citizenships belong to unaffected countries.
Trump indicated that the purpose of the measure is to stop people deemed potential security risks from entering the US.
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In a video message posted on X on Wednesday, he stated, “We cannot allow open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.”
The White House stated that the countries subjected to the most stringent restrictions were considered to have a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” insufficient cooperation on visa-related security measures, and inadequate systems for verifying travelers’ identities.
The administration pointed to problems like inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and elevated visa overstay rates as additional contributing factors.
The new directive expands on the broader immigration crackdown initiated by Trump at the start of his second term.
On January 20, the president issued an executive order that required more stringent security checks for foreign nationals and directed federal agencies to assess which countries should be considered for entry suspensions based on insufficient vetting processes.
This action resembles Trump’s contentious travel ban from his first term, which initially affected seven majority-Muslim nations and was confirmed by the US Supreme Court in 2018.
In 2021, President Joe Biden rescinded the ban, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”
