In the wake of the Colorado attack on a pro-Israel group, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning travel from 12 countries, citing national security concerns. Trump’s proclamation fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
While announcing the sweeping crackdown on immigrants on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump flagged Sunday’s Colorado attack, in which an Egyptian man set fire to peaceful protesters seeking the release of Israelis held in Gaza.
The countries facing the total ban were found “to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and were determined to pose a very high risk to the United States,” according to a statement from the White House.
In addition to the ban, which takes effect at 12:01 am on Monday (June 9), there will be partial entry restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
These include limitations on both immigrant and non-immigrant visas such as B-1, B-2, F, M, and J categories, primarily due to high visa overstay rates or insufficient collaboration with US law enforcement agencies.
The move, aimed at safeguarding national security, revives and broadens his contentious travel ban policy on seven Islamic nations, first implemented during his first term in office.
“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 said in his proclamation.