Trump Cracks Down with Travel Prohibition for Citizens of a Dozen High-Risk Nations
Trump removes travel restrictions for residents from twelve specified nations - Trump issues travel restrictions for residents from twelve designated countries.
Here's the lowdown on the latest travel restrictions:
- The travel ban will take effect next Monday according to the regulation. Citizens of the following countries won't be able to set foot in the USA: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Yet, there's an exception for those who serve the USA's "national interest."
- Content from seven additional countries has been curtailed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Nevertheless, temporary work visas will still be permissible for their citizens.
- Trump cited the arson attack on Jewish protesters in Colorado, allegedly perpetrated by an Egyptian without a valid visa, as the reasoning for this restrictive policy. The incident left a dozen innocent individuals injured.
- America can't risk "precious immigration from countries that we can't securely and responsibly screen and monitor," Trump elaborated, alluding to the countries subjected to the ban's restrictions. Coincidentally, Egypt, the attacker's homeland, isn't affected by the travel ban.
- The Colorado incident "underscores the severe perils we confront due to foreign nationals who haven't undergone proper vetting," Trump stated in his video message, leaving no room for disagreement. "We don't want them."
- The Egyptian is believed to have hurled Molotov cocktails at people protesting for the release of Israeli hostages held by the Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His visa had expired more than two years ago, and, according to the US government, he had been residing in the USA "illegally" since September 2022, having applied for asylum.
- The president's document, signed on Wednesday and released by the White House, asserts that travel bans are essential to safeguard American citizens from "foreign terrorists."
- Venezuela responded to Trump's travel restrictions on its citizens with a travel advisory, warning that visiting the USA entails "supreme peril."
- In his video message, Trump likened the measure to the travel ban he imposed during the early days of his first term in 2017. He claimed that the "forceful" ban had spared the United States from enduring terrorist attacks like those that hit Europe. "We won't tolerate Europe's fate in America," Trump declared.
- During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump imposed a travel ban on citizens from predominantly Muslim countries. The restriction, which originally embraced Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria, was obstructed several times by the US judiciary. Iraq and Sudan were then swiftly removed from the list. A final version that also encompassed North Korea and Venezuela was eventually greenlighted by the Supreme Court.
- The White House called the new travel restrictions without prior notice. Just prior, Trump addressed around 3000 staff members from the White House balcony during a formal "summer soirée."
- It's also odd that no media personnel were present at the announcement: Many of Trump's controversial policies have previously been unveiled at ceremonial decree signings in the Oval Office in front of reporters. Yet, confused murmurs arose after the Colorado attack concerning a new U.S. travel ban. The proclamation detailed explicit reasons for the travel ban in each of the mentioned countries. For Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen, it was asserted that there was a lack of "competent" central authorities for managing passports and screening travelers. Yemen, which is mainly ruled by pro-Iranian Houthi rebels, was also described as "theater of active U.S. military operations." Iran, with whom the U.S. is currently negotiating a potential nuclear deal, was included on the list as it is a "sponsor of global terrorism." Most other countries were added due to an unusually high likelihood that their citizens could overstay their welcome in the U.S.
The European Union, mindful of the ongoing threat of terrorism, is now developing a new counter-terrorism programme, set to debut in the ensuing months. This development coincides with the Trump administration's strict travel restrictions, implemented under the guise of national security, which have sparked controversy in the realm of politics and general news.
