WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s order banning entry to citizens from 12 countries will take effect at 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT) on Monday. The move, according to the president, is intended to protect the United States from “foreign terrorists.”
The full travel ban applies to nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
In addition, partial entry restrictions will be imposed on individuals from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.
The travel ban is part of Trump’s broader immigration policy and echoes a similar measure from his first term, when he restricted entry from several Muslim-majority countries.
The announcement has sparked dismay and disbelief among officials and residents of the affected nations. In response to the decision, Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he has directed his government to suspend the issuance of visas to US citizens.
“Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the US a luxury airplane for Trump’s use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the US.
Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban.
Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies.
“Trump’s travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,” said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. “People have a right to seek asylum.”
World Cup, Olympics excluded
The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump’s order said.
Trump announced separately on Wednesday a ban on visas for foreign students who are set to begin attending Harvard University, ramping up his crackdown on what he regards as a bastion of liberalism. Amnesty International US called the ban “discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel.” Agencies
