US President Donald Trump has signed a new travel ban targeting 12 countries including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen, reviving one of the most controversial measures from his first term.
Mr Trump said 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 the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Mr Trump also imposed a partial ban on travellers from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from these countries will be allowed.
The bans come into effect on Monday, the White House said.
“The 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,” President Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office posted on X.
“We don’t want them,” he added.
World Cup, Olympics excluded
The ban will however 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, Mr Trump’s order said.
The US leader compared the new measures to the “powerful” ban he imposed on a number of mainly Muslim countries in his first term, which caused travel disruption across the world.
Mr Trump said that the 2017 ban had stopped the United States from suffering terror attacks that happened in Europe.
“We will not let what happened in Europe happen in America,” Mr Trump said.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen,” he added.
Venezuela hit back by warning that the United States itself was a dangerous destination.
“Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans,” Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said after the announcement, warning citizens against travelling there.
Mr Trump’s new travel ban could however face legal challenges, as have many of the drastic measures he has taken in his whirlwind return to office.
The White House unveiled the new ban with virtually no warning, minutes after Mr Trump had addressed some 3,000 political appointees from his balcony at a celebratory “summer soiree”.
Mr Trump also made the announcement with no reporters present, an unusual move after sharing many of his most headline-grabbing policy announcements at signing ceremonies in the Oval Office.
President Trump gave specific reasons for each country’s ban in his proclamation, which says it is aimed at protecting the United States from “foreign terrorists and other national security” threats.
For Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen, it said they lacked “competent” central authorities for processing passports and vetting.
Iran, with which the United States is in negotiations on a possible nuclear deal, was included as it is a “state sponsor of terrorism,” the order said.
“The impact of the ban will once again be felt by Americans who were denied the ability to see their loved ones at weddings, funerals, or the birth of a child,” said National Iranian American Council president Jamal Abdi.
For most of the other countries, Mr Trump’s order cited an above average likelihood that people would overstay their visas.
Crackdown on Harvard
Separately, Mr Trump announced 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.
Mr Trump is seeking to bring the universities to heel with claims their international students pose a national security threat, and that they ignored anti-Semitism on campus, and perpetuate liberal bias.
A proclamation issued by the White House declared that the entrance of international students to begin a course at Harvard would be “suspended and limited” for six months, and that existing overseas enrolees could have their visas terminated.
“Harvard’s conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,” said the order.
The announcement came after the Trump administration’s earlier efforts to terminate Harvard’s right to enrol and host foreign students were stalled by a judge.
The government already cut around $3.2 billion (€2.8 billion) of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution from any future federal funding.
In response to the move, Harvard University called the executive order “retaliatory”.
“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights. Harvard will continue to protect its international students,” said a Harvard spokesman.
