Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban has taken effect, blacklisting citizens of 12 countries.
The policy came into effect at 00:00 ET (05:00 UK time) on Monday, with the White House claiming the policy was made up of ‘common sense restrictions’ to ‘protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors’.
Holders of passports from the 12 countries – which span hundreds of millions of people across four continents – will be turned away from Monday.
Heightened restrictions have also been put in place for people from seven other countries.
After the ban was announced, Trump said: ‘We don’t want ’em. Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.’
Full list of 12 countries on Donald Trump’s travel ban
The 12 countries which have been issued full travel bans are:
- Afghanistan
- Burma
- Chad
- The Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
These are the seven countries which now have heightened restrictions on visitors:
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Laos
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
Meanwhile, international travellers arriving from a select group of airports, including Ireland’s Dublin and Shannon, breeze through customs — without an American passport thanks to preclearance. You can read more about that here.
It’s the second such ban Trump has introduced after signing a similar order during his first term in 2017.
Back then he blacklisted citizens of seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
The policy was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018 after being challenged and amended several times, affecting citizens from 15 countries in its various iterations.
Former president Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, repealed all the restrictions in 2021 and called them ‘a stain on our national conscience’.
But Trump said of his new ban: ‘During my first administration, I restricted the entry of foreign nationals into the United States, which successfully prevented national security threats from reaching our borders and which the Supreme Court upheld.
‘It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.
‘The United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those aliens approved for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans or our national interests.
‘More importantly, the United States must identify such aliens before their admission or entry into the United States.
‘The United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security.’
How could the ban affect the upcoming World Cup and Olympic Games?
Questions have been raised over the ban’s effect on the 2026 Fifa World Cup, which will be held in Los Angeles, and the 2028 Olympic Games, held jointly between the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Trump’s order contains a clear exemption for athletes participating in the tournaments, as well as other ‘major’ sporting events.
It says ‘any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state” can still travel to the US’.
However there is no exemption for ticket-holders, meaning athletes will have to compete without the support of visiting fans from home.
Some have also raised concerns that visiting sports teams may experience problems with documentation and security checks.
Nicole Hoevertsz, an International Olympic Committee vice president who chairs the LA28 coordination commission, said organisers are ‘very confident’ that ‘participants will be able to enter the country’.
‘The federal government has given us that guarantee,’ she said.
Trump said the list is subject to revision, meaning countries could be added if he later believes their citizens pose a risk to national security, or removed if they improve their vetting systems.
And he has also exempted athletes, support teams and their immediate
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