by Donald Wood
Last updated: 7:40 AM ET, Thu June 5, 2025
United States President Donald Trump and his administration
announced Wednesday night that it would ban travel to the U.S. for citizens of
12 countries, while citizens of another seven nations would face restrictions.
According to the White
House, the Trump travel ban will take effect on Monday, June 9 at 12:01
a.m. local time, and includes Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of
Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and
Yemen.
As for the countries facing additional entry restrictions,
the list includes Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and
Venezuela.
In a video shared on social media, President Trump mentioned
Sunday’s terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, and emphasized the perceived dangers
associated with international travelers who overstay their visas.
The countries that made the travel ban list “had deficient
screening” or refused to take back their own citizens, according to Trump. The President’s
decision was heavily influenced by an annual Homeland Security report regarding
visa overstays, according to The
Associated Press.
In 2017, President Trump unveiled a seven-country travel ban
that was amended and upheld in the Supreme Court in 2018. Just as it was during
his first term, President Trump defended the bans, citing national security concerns.
President Trump’s new travel ban has been met with
resistance, just as the list he developed in his first term was, with international
aid groups and refugee resettlement organizations condemning the new ban.
“This policy is not about national security — it is about
sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and
opportunity in the United States,” Oxfam America President Abby Maxman said.
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