US President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order banning entry into the United States for nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, and Iran, citing national security concerns.

The remaining countries are Burma (Myanmar), Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The new restrictions, announced via a proclamation on the social media platform Truth Social, will take effect on June 9 and are already drawing criticism from rights groups and legal experts, who expect swift court challenges.

In addition to the outright ban on 12 nations, the order imposes partial travel restrictions on nationals from seven more countries - Cuba, Venezuela, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.

The White House said the measures are "common sense restrictions designed to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors."

Some exemptions have been included for specific categories of travellers. 

These include athletes attending major international sporting events, certain Afghan nationals under humanitarian parole, and dual nationals holding citizenship in countries not affected by the ban.

The move follows a deadly attack in Colorado on Sunday, which Trump referenced when justifying the new policy. “We will not allow threats to enter our borders unchecked,” he said in his post.

The new ban mirrors an earlier executive order from Trump’s first term in 2017, when he implemented travel restrictions targeting several Muslim-majority countries—an order that faced intense backlash and was eventually revised after legal battles.

The new measure also fulfils a campaign promise made by Trump during the 2024 presidential race, as he pledged to tighten immigration controls and “restore security at home.”

Source: BBC

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