President Trump said Thursday that his new travel ban against a dozen mainly African countries and the Middle East cannot come early enough. “He argued that the ban would help prevent terrorist attacks and prevent those who go beyond their visas.
But even by this logic, Mr. Trump’s ban is in a practitioner.
“There is no coherent criterion that would lead you to these 19 countries,” said Doug Rand, a former Immigration official for the Biden administration, referring to the 12 countries and seven others who face restrictions but not a complete ban. “You have a bunch of countries that seem to be motivated by political motivations, then a bunch of random countries with a data sheet to support their conclusion.”
The order, which comes into force on Monday, Prohibit travel in the United States By citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. And this limits the trips of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. It includes certain exemptions, including people with existing visas.
Trump argued that the time for the ban was stimulated by a Recent attack in Colorado On a group honoring the hostages held in Gaza in which an Egyptian has been arrested and charged.
But Egypt – which is both a military partner and a critical mediator in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas – was not on the travel ban list. Nations have also been omitted according to which national security officials have long treated as parias, including SyriaWhere Mr. Trump recently sought to improve relations.
Rand and other immigration experts noted that the nations housing a higher number of people who have raised visas have been left from the list.
