An executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump, which bars entry to citizens from 12 countries, will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Monday. The administration says the measure is intended to prevent threats from “foreign terrorists.”
The full travel restrictions apply to individuals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. In addition, partial restrictions will be enforced on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
According to the Trump administration, the countries facing the strictest limits were selected due to a combination of poor cooperation on visa security, weak systems for verifying identities, inadequate criminal background checks, and a high rate of visa overstays in the U.S. He also pointed to a recent incident in Boulder, Colorado—where an Egyptian national threw a gasoline bomb into a pro-Israel crowd—as a justification, although Egypt is not included in the ban.
This move aligns with broader efforts by the Trump administration to tighten immigration policy, echoing a similar travel ban implemented during his first term that targeted several Muslim-majority countries.
The announcement has sparked concern and criticism abroad and domestically. Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno responded by ordering a halt to U.S. visa issuances, stating that while his country lacks luxury assets or vast funds, it possesses “dignity and pride.” He referenced countries like Qatar, which offered high-value gifts and investments to the U.S.
Meanwhile, Afghan nationals who had worked with American programs and were awaiting resettlement expressed anxiety that the new restrictions could leave them vulnerable to retaliation if forced to remain in or return to Afghanistan.
U.S. lawmakers, particularly from the Democratic Party, condemned the decision. Representative Ro Khanna labeled the policy “draconian and unconstitutional,” adding that people have a fundamental right to seek asylum.
