US entry ban for nationals of 12 countries takes effect

The ban on entry into the United States for citizens of 12 countries, enacted last week by Donald Trump, came into effect at 4:01 GMT on the night of Sunday, June 8, to Monday, June 9, according to the text of the presidential decree.

The decision, taken to "protect the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security threats," according to the presidential proclamation, affects nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The US executive, which pursues a very restrictive anti-immigration policy, justifies the inclusion of the countries concerned on this list by the absence of effective administrations to ensure the control of travelers and the tendency of nationals of some of them to remain in the United States after the expiration of their visas.

Nationals of seven other countries are subject to visa restrictions: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

The US president compared this decision, announced last Wednesday, to the "effective restrictions" he imposed on citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries, which his critics called a "Muslim ban" at the start of his previous term in 2017. Four countries appear on both lists: Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Yemen.

"As president, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people," Donald Trump said in the text of the decision, which states that he wants to "protect the United States from foreign terrorists."

The real estate mogul cited the June 1 attack in Colorado, western California, by an Egyptian whose visa had expired as an example of "the extreme dangers posed by the entry of foreign nationals who have not been properly vetted." The attack, which targeted participants in a weekly march in support of Israeli hostages in Gaza, injured 12 people.

"We will not allow what happened in Europe to happen in America," added Donald Trump, referring to the attacks, sometimes jihadist, perpetrated by foreign nationals.

These bans have been greeted with concern and perplexity by several targeted countries. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his "concerns under international law" due to the "very broad and general scope" of this ban. Amnesty International denounced a decree "discriminatory, racist and absolutely cruel." The African Union (AU) expressed "concern about the potential negative impact of such measures," including on "diplomatic relations" with the countries concerned. One of them, Chad, announced that it was suspending visas to American citizens as a retaliatory measure.

“I know the pain of Trump’s cruel and xenophobic travel bans, as my family has been hit hard,” Iranian-American Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari wrote on X on Sunday. “We will fight this ban with everything we have.”

Exceptions are, however, made for holders of certain visas, diplomats and people whose travel to the United States "serves the national interest."

Soccer players competing in the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, as well as athletes at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, will not be affected by the restrictions. The ban, enacted in January 2017, sparked major protests at several major U.S. airports.