The ban on Trump’s travel unless citizens in 12 countries take effect

The new travel ban by President Donald Trump, which prohibits citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, came into force at 00:00 HE (05:00 BST) on Monday.

The order, which Trump signed last week, restricted the nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen to enter the United States.

The nationals of seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will face partial travel restrictions.

The American president said the list could be revised if “material improvements” were made, while other countries could be added as “threats emerge in the world”.

This is the second time that Trump has been ordering the ban on travel in certain countries. He signed a similar order in 2017 during his first mandate.

The White House said that these “common sense restrictions” “would protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”.

There are a number of people from affected countries who may still be able to enter the United States due to a number of exceptions. The order does not apply to:

• American residents “legal permanent”
• Their immediate family members who have immigrant visas
• US government employees with special immigrant visas
• Adoption
• Double national when the individual does not travel on a passport of one of the affected countries
• Afghan nationals hold special immigrant visas
• Holders of “immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities faced with persecution in Iran”
• Foreign nationals traveling with certain non-immigrant visas
• Athletes, their teams (including coaches and support staff), and their immediate family when they travel for major sporting events, such as the Male Football World Cup in 2026 and the summer 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
• In addition, the American Secretary of State can grant exemptions to individuals on a case-by-case basis, if “the individual would serve national interest from the United States”.

In a video published on his social website Truth last week, Trump said that the recent attack in Boulder, Colorado, “underlined the extreme dangers” posed by foreign nationals who had not been “correctly verified”.

Twelve people were injured in Colorado on June 1 when a man attacked a group of group to support Israeli hostages. The FBI called this a suspected terrorist attack and said the suspect had used a makeshift flame launcher, Molotov cocktails and other incendiary devices.

The man accused of having carried out the attack was identified as an Egyptian national, but Egypt was not included on the list of prohibited countries.

Trump’s last order, which is likely to face legal challenges, has attracted a rapid response to the country and abroad.

Chad retaliated by suspending all visas to American citizens while Somalia has promised to work with the United States to solve security problems.

The African Union, which represents all countries on the continent, called on the United States to “engage in a constructive dialogue with the countries concerned”.

In the United States, Democrats quickly condemned this decision.

“This prohibition, extended by Trump’s Muslim ban during his first mandate, will only beolated us more on the world scene,” wrote PRAMILA JAYAPAL on social networks.

But others support the ban.

The member of the Clay Higgins Congress of Louisiana told the BBC that the trip to the United States was “a privilege, not a right”.