Donald Trump recently announced a travel ban affecting citizens of 12 countries, including Afghanistan and Iran. The other ten countries on this list are:
* Myanmar
* Chad
* Republic of the Congo
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Haiti
* Libya
* Somalia
* Sudan
* Yemen
The primary stated reason for these travel bans is national security concerns. Trump and his administration cited factors such as:
* Inadequate screening and vetting processes in these countries, hindering the U.S.’s ability to identify potential security threats.
* Ties to terrorism or state-sponsored terrorism in some nations (e.g., Iran and Cuba, though Cuba is under heightened restrictions, not a full ban).
* Lack of cooperation with U.S. immigration enforcement, including a refusal by some countries to take back their citizens who have overstayed their visas.
* High rates of visa overstays by nationals from these countries.
* Ongoing civil strife and instability, leading to concerns about governance and the ability to provide reliable travel documents.
Trump also explicitly linked the new ban to a recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, stating it “underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas.”
Critics, however, have argued that the ban is discriminatory and politically motivated, with some pointing to Trump’s past calls for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”