Trump signs travel ban against 12 nations
Critics say measure is overboard, unnecessary
By: Joey Garrison
and Francesce Chambers
USA today
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has issued a full travel ban blocking the entry of foreign nationals from 12 counties into the United States, reviving a controversial policy from his first term that is likely to be challenged in court.
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Trump cited "national security risks" posed by citizens of the targeted nations, which include several Middle Easter and African countries, in a June 4 [2025] proclamation he signed imposing the ban. The restrictions are scheduled to go into effect on June 9. [2025]
..... The ban prohibits entry into the United States of foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritra, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Trump issued partial
travel suspensions for foreign nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierre Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
..... In videotaped remarks form the Oval Office, Trump pointed to last weekends [05/31-06/01/2025]
fiery assault on Pro-israeli demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, carried out by suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, a native of Egypt who came to the United States on a tourist visa in late 2022 and stayed after the visa expired.
..... "The recent terror attack in boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers prosed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as visitors who come here as temporary visitors and overstayed their visas," Trump said. "We don't want them."
..... Egypt is not among the countries facing new restrictions despite Trump's invoking the attack, which the White House has blamed on the Biden administration's immigration policies.
..... The move comes as the Trump administration has worked aggressively to deport immigrants who are in the United States unlawfully, halted the government's refugee resettlement program, and last week [05/30/2025] announced plans to "aggressively" revoke the visas of Chinese students.
..... The ban resembles similar actions the entry took during his first term to bar several predominantly Muslim countries.
..... The restrictions do not apply to visas that have already been granted, lawful permanent resident,s certain athletes, immigrate family members of current visa holders and other classes of individuals for whom the administration granted exceptions.
...... "In the 21st Century, we've seen one foreign-visa over-stayers from dangerous places. they should not be in our country," Trump said.
..... "We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America."
..... Council on American-Islamic Relationship Executive Director Nihad Awad said the government already vets visa applications extensively.
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The new order risks separating families, depriving students of educational opportunities and blocking patients form unique medical treatment, he said.
..... "President Trump's new travel ban targeting mostly Muslim and African nations and raising the spector of mroe vague free speech restrictions is overboard, unnecessary and ideolpgically motivated," Awad said.
..... "Automatically banning students, workers, tourists, and other citizens of these targeted nations form coming to the United States will not make our nation safer."
..... Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said in a post on social media that the antisemitic attack in Boulder shouldn't be sued to justify a ban on travel from primarily Muslim-majority countries.
..... "We'll keep saying it: the Jewish community's legitimate fears and concerns should not (be) exploited to undermine core democratic norms, or otherwise advance discriminatory & unconstitutional policies," Spitalnick said. "doing so only makes - Jews - and all communities - less safe."
.....U.S. Representative Judy Chu, a California Democrat who introduced legislation in February [2025] that sought to prevent the Trump administration form banning travel to the United States by people of any religious group, lashed out at Trump on X.
..... "Just now, Trump has re-issued his disgusting, bigoted, and Islampphobic travel ban," she said. "This goes against our core American values while doing nothing to make us safer. We can do better, we must do better."
Trump revisits travel bans
..... Trump's first-term travel bans were overturned repeatedly in the courts for apparent religious or racial motivations before eventually being upheld by the Supreme Court.
..... Within hours of the new ban, the International Refugee Assistance Project, a group that sued Trump in 2017, slammed the ban as arbitrary for making exceptions for athletics traveling to the United States for sporting events such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, "while closing the door to ordinary people who've gone through extensive legal processes to enter the United States."
..... "It is yet another shameful attempt by the Trump administration to sow division, fear, and chaos," Stephanie Gee, senior director of U.S. Legal Services, said in a statement.
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Trump's latest ban follows through on a day-one execute order directing his administration to identify counties throughout the world "for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension on the entry or admission of nationals from those countries."
..... Trump said he evaluated recommendations from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi based on foreign policy, national security, and counter terrorism goals and largely accepted their recommendations.
..... Factors included whether a county "has a significant terrorist presence within its territory" or a high rate of people overstaying their visas," Trump's order said.
..... The president said the administration also considered a country's "cooperation with accepting back its removable nationals."
..... At one point, the administration looked at slapping as many as 43 countries with restrictions. Egypt was not on either of the draft lists that circulated in March [2025]
..... Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA today