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President Donald Trump has signed a new travel ban restricting travel to the U.S. from 19 countries with “hostile attitudes” or a “significant terrorist presence,” a policy reminiscent of the deeply controversial “Muslim travel ban” he introduced during his first term.
Effective June 9, travel will be fully restricted from 12 nations: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Partial restrictions will apply to seven others: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Issuing the presidential proclamation via a video statement on Wednesday, Trump cited Sunday’s firebomb attack on peaceful protesters in Boulder, Colorado, by a man alleged to be an Egyptian citizen in the country on an expired visa, as justification for the ban, saying Americans face “extreme danger” from foreign nationals “who are not properly vetted.”
Lawful permanent residents, athletes traveling for the World Cup and Olympics and those who have already been granted asylum or refugee status are among the limited exceptions to the restrictions.
Others with immediate family member visas, dual citizenship with a non-restricted passport and United Nations and Nato visas are also exempt.
Here are more of Donald Trump’s comments as he announced a controversial travel ban in a video on his Truth Social platform.
The recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, in which 12 people were injured after a man attacked a group gathering in support of Israeli hostages, “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”, Trump said.
“We don’t want them,” he added, because the US can’t have “open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter”.
The strength of the restrictions are based on the “severity of the threat posed”, he added.
trumpmuskpremium (AP)
Alex Croft5 June 2025 10:54
Donald Trump’s new travel ban contains a exemption for athletes.
The exemption could apply to to players, staff or families with clubs participating in the 2025 Club World Cup, 2026 Fifa World Cup or the 2028 Olympics.
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are 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.
However, in Section 4 of the executive order, an exemption states: “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State”.
Jabed Ahmed5 June 2025 10:38
China opposes the politicisation of education, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has said, in response to U.S. President Trump’s latest decision to suspend entry of international students studying at Harvard.
The U.S. will only harm its own image and credibility through the relevant measures, Lin said.
Education cooperation between China and the U.S. are mutually beneficial and China will firmly safeguard the legitimate interests of its students and scholars overseas, he added.
(AP)
Trump signed a proclamation to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard University, the White House said on Wednesday, amid an escalating row with the academic institution.
Jabed Ahmed5 June 2025 10:32
The inclusion of Afghanistan has angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban makes exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, generally people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade-long war there.
Afghanistan was also one of the largest sources of resettled refugees, with about 14,000 arrivals in a 12-month period through September 2024. Trump suspended refugee resettlement his first day in office.
“To include Afghanistan — a nation whose people stood alongside American service members for 20 years — is a moral disgrace. It spits in the face of our allies, our veterans, and every value we claim to uphold,” said Shawn VanDiver, president and board chairman of #AfghanEvac.
Trump wrote that Afghanistan “lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.” He also cited its visa overstay rates.
Jabed Ahmed5 June 2025 10:17
Somalia immediately pledged to work with the U.S. to address security issues.
“Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, responded on Wednesday evening by describing the U.S. government as fascist and warning Venezuelans of being in the U.S.
“The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans … They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”
Other countries have yet to respond.
We will bring you the latest updates right here.
Jabed Ahmed5 June 2025 09:59
Jabed Ahmed5 June 2025 09:51
The president’s former first buddy, who left his role as a special government employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last week, has had a busy night on X but posted nothing whatsoever about Trump’s latest announcement.
On Tuesday, Musk was highly critical of the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” currently under discussion in the Senate, calling it a “disgusting abomination.”
Here’s a look at how and why the relationship between the two men disintegrated after just four months in power.
Joe Sommerlad5 June 2025 09:10