WASHINGTON, June 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — United States President Donald Trump signed a proclamation banning travel from certain countries to “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”, the White House said.
The proclamation fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.
The countries facing the total ban were found “to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States”, according to a statement provided by the White House.
The White House said the proclamation will be effective from 12.01am Eastern Time on Jun 9. Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.
Athletes, including coaches and immediate relatives, travelling for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting events are exempted, it added.
Trump said the travel ban was spurred by the Colorado attack and is subject to revision, adding that other countries may be included as threats emerge around the world.
An Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, has been charged with attacking a crowd taking part in a Jewish protest in Colorado. He allegedly used firebombs, injuring eight people. US authorities have blamed Monday’s attack on the man, whom they say was in the country illegally.
Federal officials added Soliman had overstayed his tourist visa and had an expired work permit – although Egypt is not on the list of countries facing travel limits.
“The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted,” Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office posted on X.
“We don’t want them.”
Trump compared the new measures to the “powerful” ban he imposed on a number of mainly Muslim countries in his first term, which he said had stopped the US suffering attacks that happened in Europe.
“We will not let what happened in Europe happen in America,” Trump said.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen. That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries, including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya, and numerous others.”
Trump also said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbour a “large-scale presence of terrorists”.
Rumours of a new Trump travel ban had circulated following the attack in Colorado, with his administration vowing to pursue “terrorists” living in the US on visas.
“President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said on X.
“These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information.” — NNN-AGENCIES
