US President Donald Trump’s fresh ban on travel to the US by residents of mainly 12 African and Middle Eastern nations takes effect on Monday. Trump had tied the move to the firebomb attack on the Colorado rally for the hostages held in Gaza, despite the attacker, an Egyptian, not coming from a listed nation. The attacks, primarily on Jews, surged across the US following Israel’s continuous refusal to engage and maintain a ceasefire in Gaza.
These attacks are seen as a reaction to Israel’s ongoing policies and its relentless bombing campaign that has killed more than 54,000 people and levelled more than 90 per cent of civilian infrastructure. While Israelis and mainstream Western media outlets were trying to control the information outflow to the US-based audiences and readers.
The social media platforms, especially X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Facebook, and Telegram, have not censored the content related to Gaza, which has also contributed to debunking the mainstream media and Israeli narrative around the Gaza invasion.
The ongoing Gaza invasion has led to frustration among pro-Palestinian individuals, as ceasefire talks keep stalling between Israel and Hamas. The pro-Palestinian supporters are openly criticising Israel and Hamas’s actions, which have led to widespread killings and destruction of the occupied enclave.
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Recognising the threats posed to the US Jewish citizens primarily linked to Israel, the new proclamation, which Trump signed on Wednesday, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela who are outside the US and don’t hold a valid visa.
The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all US diplomatic missions.
However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting today. Travellers with previously issued visas should still be able to enter the US even after the ban takes effect.
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