US President Donald Trump signed a new travel ban that comes into effect on Monday targeting 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen, reviving one of the most controversial measures from his first term. Trump said on Wednesday the measure was spurred by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally. The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House. Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed. \u201cThe recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted,\u201d Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office posted on social media platform X. \u201cWe don\u2019t want them.\u201d World Cup, Olympics excluded: However, the ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump\u2019s order said. Trump announced separately on Wednesday a ban on visas for foreign students who are set to begin attending Harvard University, ramping up his crackdown on what he regards as a bastion of liberalism. The US leader compared the new measures to the ban he imposed on a number of mainly Muslim countries in his first term, which caused travel chaos across the world. Trump said that 2017 ban had stopped the United States from suffering terror attacks that happened in Europe. \u201cWe will not let what happened in Europe happen in America,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.\u201d Venezuela hit back by warning that the United States itself was a dangerous destination. \u201cBeing in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans,\u201d Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said after the announcement, warning Venezuelan citizens against travel there. Amnesty International USA condemned Trump\u2019s new travel ban in a post on X, calling it \u201cdiscriminatory, racist, and downright cruel.\u201d It said that \u201cby targeting people based on their nationality, this ban only spreads disinformation and hate.\u201d The ban could face legal challenges, as have many of the drastic measures Trump has taken since his whirlwind return to office in January. Rumors of a new Trump travel ban had circulated following the attack in Colorado, with his administration vowing to pursue \u201cterrorists\u201d living in the United States on visas. Suspect Mohammed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national according to court documents, is alleged to have thrown firebombs and sprayed burning gasoline at a group of people who had gathered on Sunday in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. US Homeland Security officials said Soliman was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022. Egypt was notably not on the list of countries facing travel restrictions. The proclamation said Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen lacked \u201ccompetent\u201d central authorities for processing passports and vetting. Iran, with which the United States is in negotiations on a possible nuclear deal, was included because it is a \u201cstate sponsor of terrorism,\u201d the order said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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