President Donald Trump signed a sweeping new travel proclamation Wednesday that will bar or partially restrict entry from nearly 20 countries, citing national security concerns.
The ban prohibits travel into the U.S. for foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Trump issued travel suspensions for Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela nationals.
The White House emphasized that the ban targets countries with “high visa overstay rates” and that are “deficient with regards to screening and vetting.”
There are similarities to Trump’s controversial 2017 “Muslim ban,” which targeted several majority-Muslim nations and faced widespread protests and legal challenges. Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who served following Trump's first term, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it "a stain on our national conscience."
