United States President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping proclamation barring citizens from twelve countries from entering the United States, citing concerns over terrorism and national security. The directive, announced on Wednesday, marks a significant expansion of his administration’s immigration restrictions and will come into effect on 9 June 2025 at 12.01am Eastern Daylight Time.
The countries facing a complete entry ban under the new order are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In addition, citizens from seven other countries—Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela—will face partial restrictions.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Mr Trump declared in a video message posted to the social media platform X. He said the list of countries could be revised in the future, with additional nations potentially being added depending on emerging threats or cooperation failures.
The proclamation is the latest in a series of hard-line immigration measures rolled out by Mr Trump since beginning his second term earlier this year. These have included the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador over suspected links to criminal gangs, attempts to block enrolment of certain foreign students, and the removal of others already in the country.
The White House said the countries subject to the most stringent restrictions were selected based on intelligence and diplomatic assessments. Officials cited a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” inadequate cooperation with the United States on visa security, unreliable identification and vetting systems, poor criminal record-keeping, and high rates of visa overstays as key concerns.
“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,” the President said.
The order does not revoke any visas issued before the proclamation takes effect. However, the announcement has already sparked international criticism and comparisons to Mr Trump’s first-term travel ban. That earlier order, issued in 2017, targeted travellers from several Muslim-majority countries and was ultimately upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 2018 after legal challenges and multiple revisions.
President Joe Biden, who succeeded Mr Trump in 2021 and served one term, had repealed that original travel ban upon taking office, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.” The reintroduction of sweeping immigration restrictions under Mr Trump’s renewed leadership has reignited debates over national security and the treatment of foreign nationals.
In defending the new policy, Mr Trump cited a recent incident in Boulder, Colorado, where an Egyptian national allegedly threw a petrol bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, who has been charged in the attack, reportedly overstayed his tourist visa and had an expired work permit. Egypt is not among the countries included in the current travel ban, but Mr Trump used the case to underscore the need for stricter immigration enforcement.
As the proclamation takes effect, observers will be watching closely to see how affected nations respond and whether legal challenges will follow. For now, the measure represents one of the most aggressive moves of Mr Trump’s second-term immigration agenda.
