US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation reinstating a travel ban on nationals from twelve countries, citing concerns over inadequate screening and the threat of terrorism to American security. The announcement comes in the aftermath of an attack in Colorado on a pro-Israel group.
The White House stated that the countries subjected to the total ban — Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen — were “deficient with regards to screening and vetting” and posed “a very high risk to the United States.”
The new restrictions take effect from 12:01 am on Monday, June 9, and also impose partial visa limitations on seven additional countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. These restrictions primarily affect immigrant and non-immigrant visas such as B-1, B-2, F, M, and J categories, largely due to high rates of visa overstays or insufficient cooperation with US law enforcement.
President Trump, addressing the rationale behind the move, linked the ban to last Sunday’s attack in Colorado, where an Egyptian man set fire to protesters advocating the release of Israelis held in Gaza. The proclamation reinstates and broadens the travel ban policy originally implemented during Trump’s first term, which targeted seven Muslim-majority countries.
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“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen... That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya, and numerous others,” Trump declared.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, praised the decision on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm.”
The administration highlighted specific concerns, including Taliban control in Afghanistan, state-sponsored terrorism linked to Iran and Cuba, and alarming visa overstay statistics in countries like Chad (49.54%) and Eritrea (55.43%).
Trump reaffirmed his commitment, saying, “We will restore the travel ban, some people call it the Trump travel ban, and keep the radical Islamic terrorists out of our country that was upheld by the Supreme Court.”
The original travel ban, signed in January 2017, barred citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. This policy was rescinded by former President Joe Biden in 2021, who called it “a stain on our national conscience.”
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