President Donald Trump’s sweeping new travel restrictions, which bar citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States, took effect at 00:00 ET today.
The order, which Trump signed last week, restricts the nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the U.S. Nationals from a further seven countries—Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela—will face partial travel restrictions.
As reported in the BBC, the president said the list could be revised if “material improvements” were made, while other countries could be added as “threats emerge around the world”.
While not all affected countries have issued statements, Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has condemned the travel restrictions, calling them a “stigmatization and criminalization campaign” against Venezuelans.
Chad President Mahamat Deby Itno said his country would suspend visas for U.S. citizens in response to the ban.
The African Union, which represents all countries on the continent, called on the U.S. to “engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned.”
In addition, the Government of South Africa—which is not on the ban list but does have a level-two travel advisory—has expressed dismay at a recent addition to the advisory, which now references violent crime and kidnappings in the country.
South African Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille issued a statement last week calling the recently updated travel advisories “politically motivated,” and expressing hope that future updates would look at the “broader context” around South Africa’s history of crime and inequality in different regions and between certain populations.
Exceptions to the Ban
There are a number of people from affected countries who may still be able to enter the U.S. due to a number of exceptions. The order does not apply to:
- “Lawful permanent” U.S. residents
- Their immediate family members who hold immigrant visas
- US government employees with Special Immigrant Visas
- Adoptions
- Dual nationals when the individual is not travelling on a passport from one of the affected countries
- Afghan nationals holding Special Immigrant Visas
- Holders of “immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran”
- Foreign nationals travelling with certain non-immigrant visas
- Athletes, their teams (including coaches and supporting staff), and their immediate family when travelling for major sporting events, such as the men’s football World Cup in 2026 and the Summer 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles
- In addition, the U.S. Secretary of State may grant exemptions to individuals on a “case-by-case” basis, if “the individual would serve a United States national interest”.
In a video posted to his Truth Social website last week, Trump said the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado “underscored the extreme dangers” posed by foreign nationals who had not been “properly vetted”.
The man accused of carrying out the attack was identified as an Egyptian national, though Egypt has not been included on the list of banned countries.
—Source: AP News
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