Trump reinstates broad travel ban targeting 19 countries

Former President Donald Trump has introduced sweeping new travel restrictions, reviving one of the most controversial policies from his first term.

Under the measure, citizens from 12 countries will be entirely barred from entering the United States, while visitors from seven additional nations will face enhanced restrictions, Caliber.Az reports via American media.

The new rules are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, June 9.

The announcement, made Wednesday through a video shared on Trump’s social media channels, marks the culmination of plans he signalled shortly after returning to office in January. This time, the rollout includes a lead time to avoid the airport chaos that ensued in 2017 when a similar policy was implemented abruptly.

Countries facing a full travel ban under the new directive include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Meanwhile, restrictions short of a full ban will apply to visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Although some of these nations appeared on Trump’s original travel ban list during his first presidency, others, such as Haiti, are new additions. Afghanistan's inclusion has drawn particular criticism due to its past cooperation with the United States.

In his announcement, Trump linked the renewed travel measures to a recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, committed by an Egyptian national who had overstayed a tourist visa. Egypt is not among the countries affected by the ban, but Trump cited the incident as an example of the dangers posed by lax visa enforcement.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the new restrictions are grounded in concerns over weak screening processes, insufficient cooperation in accepting deported citizens, and high visa overstay rates, based on an annual DHS report on air and sea arrivals.

"We don’t want them," Trump said in the video, emphasizing the administration’s focus on national security and visa compliance.

The move to include Afghanistan has outraged advocates and veterans’ groups who supported the resettlement of Afghans after the 2021 US withdrawal. Though Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) are exempt from the ban, the broader restriction was sharply condemned.

“To include Afghanistan — a nation whose people stood alongside American service members for 20 years — is a moral disgrace,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac. “It spits in the face of our allies, our veterans, and every value we claim to uphold.”

In justification, the Trump administration cited Afghanistan’s lack of a functioning central authority capable of issuing reliable documents, as well as its high rate of visa overstays. In the 12 months ending in September 2024, nearly 14,000 Afghan refugees were resettled in the US — one of the highest totals among all countries.

Haiti, which was not included in the earlier travel bans, was added this time due to persistent high overstay rates and continued unauthorized migration to the US. The country is grappling with extreme political instability and gang violence, with armed groups now believed to control the vast majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Trump’s justification noted that Haiti lacks effective law enforcement coordination and cannot ensure that its nationals do not pose a threat to US national security.

Iran, another country on the list, received no immediate reaction from its government. The Trump administration reiterated its classification of Iran as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” though individuals holding valid visas or those applying for certain humanitarian exceptions will not be affected.

Other conflict-ridden nations such as Libya, Sudan, and Yemen were included due to internal instability and fractured governance. Libya remains divided between rival armed factions, Sudan is currently engulfed in civil war, and Yemen’s long-running conflict remains unresolved.

Humanitarian and refugee organizations have criticized the policy as discriminatory and counterproductive. “This policy is not about national security — it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.

The latest ban stems from an executive order Trump issued on January 20, instructing the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence to review global visa security practices and evaluate whether nationals of specific countries pose a risk to US interests based on “hostile attitudes” and cooperation levels.

By Tamilla Hasanova