President Donald Trump issued a new travel ban on Wednesday night. It will bar people from 12 countries from entering the country, while partially restricting those from seven others.
The order, expected to go into effect next week, will fully ban individuals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The countries that will have their travel limited are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The ban contains certain exemptions for visa holders, lawful permanent residents and others.
After a series of legal challenges, Trump implemented a similar travel ban during his first term in office. Planning for a new ban had reportedly been underway since the start of the second administration as part of a larger war on immigration.
The administration is claiming the latest ban is a product of national security concerns. Trump said in a video that the antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, last weekend “underscores the danger posed to our country by foreign nationals not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their welcome.”
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Critics pointed out that the perpetrator of Sunday’s attack was from Egypt, a country not included on Trump’s list. Democrats were also quick to condemn the announcement, calling it bigoted and unproductive.
“Make no mistake: Trump’s travel ban will NOT make America safer,” wrote Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on X. "We cannot continue to allow the Trump administration to write bigotry and hatred into U.S. immigration policy.”
“From his first Muslim Ban, Trump’s travel bans have always betrayed … the ideals and values that inspired America’s founders,” added Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. “Trump’s use of prejudice and bigotry to bar people from entering the U.S. does not make us safer, it just divides us and weakens our global leadership.”
