Travel restrictions in the United States are officially in effect in 19 countries
President Donald Trump’s new ban, a new ban on traveling to the United States by citizens from 12 major African and Middle Eastern countries, took effect on Monday as tensions in the president’s escalating immigration law enforcement campaign.
The new declaration signed by Trump last week applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Sudan, Sudan, Sudan, Sudan, Sudan, Sudan and Yeman. It also imposes higher restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who do not have valid visas outside the United States.
In total, less than 162,000 immigrant visas and temporary work, research and travel visas were issued to nationals in the now-banned visa category in 2023, according to the Immigration Policy Institute. The ban includes exemptions such as dual nationals, permanent residents, immigration visas, major sporting events such as immediate family members and athletes for citizens and athletes next year, when the United States hosted about 75% of the tournament competitions.
According to guidelines for all U.S. diplomatic missions, the new ban does not revoke visas previously issued from the list. However, unless the applicant meets the narrow standards of the exemption order, his or her application will be rejected from Monday.
During Trump’s first term, a hasty written executive order ordered the refusal of citizens of primarily Muslim countries to cause confusion at many airports and other entrance mouths, thus facilitating successful legal challenges and major revisions to the policy.
Within hours after the new ban came into effect, Los Angeles International Airport did not immediately detect such interference.
Ban on criticized by immigration advocates
While there is indeed a major problem with the unauthorized persons in the U.S. within its borders, with an estimated 11 million to 11 million people in various immigration think tanks, the ban was quickly condemned by groups that provide assistance and resettlement to refugees.
“This policy has nothing to do with national security, but about sowing and invading communities seeking security and opportunities in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, a nonprofit international relief organization.
Afghanistan includes angering some supporters who are working to resettle the people. The ban does provide exceptions to Afghans with special immigration visas, usually where the people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two decades of war.
U.S. President Donald Trump defended citizens banning entry into twelve countries and imposed strict travel restrictions on seven other countries. Trump said he focused on countries that pose a terrorist threat, have a history of visa violations or lack a safe travel documentation system.
Afghanistan has been one of the largest sources of resettlement of refugees until September 2024, with about 14,000 people arriving in 12 months. Trump suspended the resettlement of refugees in the country on his first day of office.
While most of the countries on the list are located on the other side of the world, the Haitian Caribbean is an exception. Currently, some of the country’s most important gang violence ever has put the country in trouble, with UN officials saying last week that many of the island’s residents have a food crisis.
Haitian-American Louis-Juste, who was at the airport in Newark, New Jersey, earlier Sunday, awaiting flights to her hometown of Florida, said many Haitians who wanted to come to the United States were just seeking to escape violence and unrest.
“I have family in Haiti, so it’s frustrating to see and hear,” Louis-Juste, 23, said of the travel ban. “I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think it’s frustrating.”
Many immigration experts say the new ban is more elaborate and seems to be aimed at defeating the court’s challenges that hinder the first challenge by focusing on the visa application process.
Trump said this time that some countries have “inadequate” screened passports and other public documents, or have historically refused to take back their citizens. He relies extensively on the annual Homeland Security Report, which people who stay in the United States after their visa expires.
Measuring the rate of transcendence has challenged experts for decades, but since 2016, the government has made limited attempts every year. Trump’s announcement cites coverage of eight of the 12 banned countries.
Trump also kidnapped the new ban in the attack in Boulder, Colorado, and said it highlighted the danger posed by some tourists with over visas. The man charged in the attack was placed on a tourist visa, U.S. officials said. He is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump’s restrictive list.
“Egypt has always been the country we handle very closely. They have control,” Trump said last week. “We have no country where we control things.”
