After weeks of speculation, President Donald Trump has signed a new travel ban, restricting the nationals of 12 countries, including Afghanistan, from entering the United States (US).

 

Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are among the countries affected by the latest travel ban.

 

US President Trump also imposed a partial ban on travellers from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. However, some temporary work visas from these countries will be allowed.

 

The bans go into effect on Monday, the order said.

 

The US president said the measure was spurred by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a pro-Israel demonstrator in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.

 

He was alluding to Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman who has been charged with perpetrating the attack. 

 

“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of The White House. He added that the list could be revised and new countries could be added.

 

According to the US president's order, the ban will not apply to athletes participating in the 2026 World Cup, which is co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico or the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

 

Trump, during his first term, announced a ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

 

In 2021, then-US President Joe Biden removed the ban on citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”

 

Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security and have an inability to verify travelers' identities, inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.

 

“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 added.

 

It may be noted that Trump administration was earlier claimed to be weighing a significant expansion of travel restrictions that would impact citizens from dozens of countries.

 

According to an internal memo, which was seen by Reuters, identified 41 countries and proposed a full visa suspension for a first group of nations, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba, and North Korea.

 

In the second group, five countries were likely to face partial suspensions that would impact tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.

 

In the third group, a total of 26 countries that included Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan among others were to be considered for a partial suspension of US visa issuance if their governments "did not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days".