WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 04: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to guests from the South Portico of the White House during an event on the South Lawn on June 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump held the “Summer Soirée” for guests, including government staffers, to visit the grounds and enjoy the recent onset of summer heat. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Washington D.C. – President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a new proclamation blocking nationals from 12 countries from entering the United States, marking a sweeping expansion of his administration’s travel restrictions and reanimating one of the most polarizing policies of his first term. Citing national security concerns, the president argued that the measure is essential to protect Americans from what he called inadequate foreign vetting systems and escalating threats of terrorism.
The new ban affects travelers from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. An additional seven countries—including Cuba, Laos, and Venezuela—face partial restrictions under the order, which suspends select visa categories but stops short of a full ban.
“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,” Trump said in a video message released by the White House Wednesday night. “We don’t want them.”
Trump’s comments refer to an incident in Boulder where a man identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman injured at least a dozen demonstrators at a pro-Israel rally. Officials described the attack as antisemitic in nature. Soliman, an Egyptian national who had overstayed his tourist visa while applying for asylum, is now in custody. Though Egypt is not on the newly released list, the White House used the incident to justify a broader crackdown on foreign arrivals.
Soliman’s wife and five children were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and although deportation proceedings were initiated, a federal judge issued an order halting their removal on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the administration, the 12 fully banned countries were selected due to poor cooperation with U.S. security protocols, high rates of visa overstays, or failure to confirm the identity and background of would-be travelers. Countries with partial restrictions were deemed to have “inconsistent” compliance, though not to a level warranting full exclusion.
The order includes exemptions for lawful permanent residents, Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders, and certain categories of family- and sports-related travel. Still, critics say the policy amounts to a rebranded version of Trump’s original Muslim travel ban, which the Supreme Court upheld in 2018 before being repealed by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Immigrant advocates and civil rights groups were quick to denounce the move, calling it a politically motivated act of discrimination. Nevertheless, Trump framed the new ban as a logical continuation of what he described as “one of the most successful policies” of his presidency.
The travel restrictions go into effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern.
