US President Donald Trump speaks as he signs an executive order targeting ticket scalping in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
President Donald Trump has issued a new travel ban restricting entry into the United States for citizens of 12 countries, citing national security concerns. The affected nations include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The ban is set to take effect on June 9, 2025.
Additionally, partial restrictions will apply to nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Certain exemptions exist, including for athletes attending major events, specific Afghan nationals, and dual citizens with unaffected nationalities.
Reasons for the Ban:
- Presence of terrorist activity in some affected countries.
- Poor identity verification systems hindering proper vetting.
- Inadequate visa cooperation with U.S. authorities.
- High visa overstay rates among travelers from these nations.
This proclamation builds on Trump’s broader immigration policies in his second term and follows a January executive order mandating stricter foreign vetting. The measure is reminiscent of Trump’s first-term travel ban, which initially targeted Muslim-majority nations and was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018 before being repealed by President Biden in 2021.
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