President Donald Trump has issued a new proclamation barring citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, citing national security concerns.
The full travel ban applies to nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
In addition to these full bans, the proclamation places partial travel restrictions on individuals from seven other nations: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
According to the BBC, certain exemptions will apply—such as athletes attending major sporting events, specific Afghan nationals, and dual citizens holding passports from countries not on the list.
Trump defended the policy in a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.”
The White House said the countries facing the most severe restrictions were identified as having a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” poor cooperation with U.S. visa security measures, and weak systems for verifying travelers’ identities. Other concerns included inadequate criminal record-keeping and high rates of visa overstays.
The new directive expands on Trump’s broader immigration crackdown launched at the start of his second term. On January 20, he signed an executive order tightening security checks for foreign nationals and directing federal agencies to reassess countries with insufficient vetting procedures.
This latest measure mirrors Trump’s first-term travel ban—initially targeting seven predominantly Muslim countries—which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. That ban was later revoked by President Joe Biden in 2021, who called it “a stain on our national conscience.”
