UNITED States (US) President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation prohibiting citizens from 12 countries from entering the US, citing the need to safeguard the nation against “foreign terrorists” and other potential security threats.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said on Wednesday June 4, in a video posted on X, noting that the list could be revised and new countries could be added.
The ICIR reports that the countries affected are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, while the entry of people from seven other countries, namely Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.
The order states that the proclamation will take effect on June 9, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT). Visas issued prior to that date will remain valid and will not be revoked.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump said.
Trump signed the directive, as a part of an immigration crackdown launched earlier this year at the beginning of his second term, which has also involved deporting hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador over suspected gang ties and taking steps to block the enrollment of certain foreign students while deporting others.
Trump said countries facing the strictest restrictions were identified to harbour “large-scale presence of terrorists,” failed to cooperate on visa security and had inability to verify travelers’ identities.
They also lacked cooperation on visa security, had poor criminal record-keeping, and high rates of visa overstays in the US, he stressed..
He pointed to an incident that happened on Sunday June 1, in Boulder, Colorado, where a man threw a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new restrictions were necessary.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national, was charged in connection with the attack. Federal officials said that Soliman had overstayed his tourist visa and was living in the US with an expired work permit.
The ICIR reports that Trump’s presidential campaign emphasised a hardline border policy, which he outlined in an October 2024 speech, vowing to restrict entry from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”
On January 20, Trump signed an executive order mandating enhanced security screening for all foreigners seeking entry into the US to identify potential national security threats.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.