President Donald Trump has announced a ban on visitors from 12 countries coming into the United States. Additionally, travelers from seven other nations will face partial restrictions.
This decision comes as part of Trump’s ongoing efforts to enhance America’s border security following a terrorist incident in Colorado. In that incident, an individual from Egypt who had exceeded his visa period reportedly ignited a fire at a pro-Israel rally.
The countries affected by the ban are Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Citizens from these nations will not be permitted to enter the United States under the new proclamation.
Further to that ban, citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted from traveling.
‘We don’t want ’em,’ Trump said in a video released shortly after the ban was announced.
‘Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.’
Trump cited the recent terror attack in Boulder as an example of why such a ban is a necessary step to keep Americans safe.
Mohamed Soliman, who had overstayed his visa and was residing in the US illegally, is now in custody accused of firebombing a group as they gathered to honor the hostages still trapped in Gaza by Hamas militants.
Trump said the tragedy ‘underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.
‘We’ve seen one terror attack after another from foreign visa overstayers… thanks to Biden’s open door policies today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in this country.’
White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson confirmed the report on Wednesday evening, writing on X: ‘President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm.
‘These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information.
‘President Trump will ALWAYS act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety.’
During his first term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim 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 the ban in 2021, calling it ‘a stain on our national conscience.’
But Trump has not backed down, referring to the success of his initial 2017 travel bans in his proclamation.
‘During my first Administration, I restricted the entry of foreign nationals into the United States, which successfully prevented national security threats from reaching our borders and which the Supreme Court upheld,’ the president wrote.
‘It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.
‘The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those aliens approved for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans or our national interests.
‘More importantly, the United States must identify such aliens before their admission or entry into the United States.
‘The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security.’
Trump said the list is ‘subject to revision’ if nations work toward improving the vetting system of their nationals.
Similarly, other nations can be added to the list if Trump later believes they pose a risk to national security.
‘Many of these countries have also taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of our visa system and their historic failure to accept back their removable nationals,’ Trump wrote in his proclamation.
Trump said the decision was made in collaboration with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe.
