Trump signs order to ban travel to US from 12 nations, partially restricts entry of nationals from 7 nations

Washington, DC [US]: US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation to ban entry of individuals from 12 nations – Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, citing national security and public safety threats, according to the White House.

Trump has partially restricted and limited the entry of nationals from the seven nations: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. According to the White House, these restrictions distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants.

The proclamation signed by Trump reads, “During my first Administration, I restricted the entry of foreign nationals into the United States, which successfully prevented national security threats from reaching our borders and which the Supreme Court upheld. In Executive Order 14161 of January 20, 2025 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), I stated that it is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”

He even stated that the US must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those aliens approved for admission into the US do not intend to harm Americans or the national interests of the US. Trump noted that the US must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to national security of the US.

In the proclamation, Trump stated, “I also considered the different risks posed by aliens admitted on immigrant visas and those admitted on nonimmigrant visas. Persons admitted on immigrant visas become lawful permanent residents of the United States. Such persons may present national security or public-safety concerns that may be distinct from those admitted as nonimmigrants. The United States affords lawful permanent residents more enduring rights than it does to nonimmigrants.”

“Lawful permanent residents are more difficult to remove than nonimmigrants, even after national security concerns arise, which increases the costs and aggravates the dangers of errors associated with admitting such individuals. And although immigrants are generally subject to more extensive vetting than nonimmigrants, such vetting is far less reliable when the country from which someone seeks to emigrate maintains inadequate identity-management or information-sharing policies or otherwise poses risks to the national security of the United States,” he added.

Trump emphasised that the restrictions imposed by the proclamation are necessary to prevent the entry or admission of foreign nationals about whom the US government lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose to the United States. He noted that the restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are required to garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives.

The proclamation also mentions justification for the suspension order issued for 12 nations and partial restrictions imposed for seven nations. According to the proclamation, Afghanistan is controlled by the Taliban, which is a terror group and does not have a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.
The decision to ban entry of nationals from Burma has been taken, citing an overstay report. According to overstay report, Burma had a B1/B2 visa overstay rate of 27.07 per cent and an F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 42.17 per cent. Furthermore, Burma has historically not cooperated with the United States to accept back its removable nationals.