Summary
- Donald Trump has signed a ban on travel to the US from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti and Iran in a bid to “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”
- There are an additional seven countries whose nationals face partial travel restrictions, including Cuba and Venezuela
- There are some exemptions, including athletes travelling for major sporting events, some Afghan nationals and dual nationals with citizenship in unaffected countries
- “We don’t want them,” Trump said as he announced the ban, while also citing the Colorado attack on Sunday
- The proclamation echoes an order from Trump’s first term in 2017, when he announced a ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US
- The travel ban, which comes into effect on 9 June, fulfils a promise Trump made during his 2024 election campaign, and is likely to draw swift legal challenges
Travelling to the US is a privilege, not a right, Republican congressman says
“President Trump has a mandate from the American people to address illegal and dangerous immigration,” Congressman Clay Higgins of Louisiana tells the Today programme on BBC Radio 4.
Higgins, a Republican who sits on the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, says immigrants who have come to the US who were “not properly vetted” or overstayed their visas are “now in the country illegally”.
He claims some of those who arrived in the US legally “have committed terrorist acts against our people”.
Higgins is pressed as to why Egypt isn’t on the list of banned countries – Trump cited an attack in Colorado at the weekend when announcing the travel ban. An Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, has been charged in the attack.
Travelling to the US is a “privilege, not a right”, the congressman responds, claiming Americans have “had enough of immigrants coming to our country, violating our laws and committing violence among our people”.
He adds that the US is “not a racist nation”, saying: “We have the right to control our borders.”
List of countries ‘truly punitive’, human rights group says
“This new travel ban mirrors much from the first Trump administration,” Robyn Barnard from Human Rights First in Washington DC tells Newsday on the BBC World Service.
“There is no clear thread between each,” she continues. “The commonalities are that many of these countries are places that people are fleeing due to conflict, violence and restrictive polices against women and girls and LGTBQ individuals and others.”
Barnard goes on to describe Trump’s list as “truly punitive”, saying that the administration is trying to punish countries they don’t want migrants from.
“It really feels like it’s about punishment and creating more chaos and disfunction in our immigration system,” she says.
How this differs from Trump’s 2017 travel ban
During his first term in the White House, Trump ordered a travel ban against people from seven Muslim-majority countries from coming to the US.
Critics called it a “Muslim ban”, and the order faced several legal challenges.
It was amended several times before being upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. Trump’s successor Joe Biden repealed the order in 2021.
But this time around it’s a savvier version, our North America correspondent Jake Kwon writes.
Last time a crucial question in the legal battle over the bill was whether it discriminated against travellers based on their religion.
This time, the order doesn’t just target majority Muslim nations. Trump says the rationale for the countries chosen is based on visa overstay rates or political instability.
There are some similarities in the nations chosen. Iran, Libya and Somalia are among those featuring on both lists.
However there is a difference in how long the policy is due to last. Last time it was only 90 to 120 days, but today’s has no end date.
Trump on banned countries: ‘We don’t want them’
Let’s bring you more of what the US president had to say as he announced the travel ban in a video on his Truth Social platform.
Donald Trump said a recent attack in Boulder, Colorado – where 12 people were injured when a man attacked a group gathering in support of Israeli hostages – “underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas”.
“We don’t want them,” Trump said, adding that he believes the US can’t have “open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter”.
The strength of these new restrictions applied depends on the “severity of the threat posed,” Trump continued, adding that the list of countries under the ban is “subject to revision” if improvements are made.
What you need to know about Trump’s travel ban
US President Donald Trump signed a travel ban order on Wednesday night, barring entry to the US for citizens from a number of countries across the world. Here’s what you need to know:
Who will be banned from entering the US?
From 9 June, citizens from 12 countries – Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – will be banned from travelling to the US.
Those from another seven countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be subject to a partial ban.
Is anyone exempt?
There are a few exemptions to this new policy – including athletes travelling for major sporting events, some dual nationals and Afghan nationals holding Special Immigrant Visas.
The order also says the secretary of state may grant exemptions on a “case-by-case” basis.
What has Trump said?
The US can’t have “open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter”, the US president
Myanmar ban will largely affect people fighting for democracy
When we look at the nationalities of people who have carried out attacks on the United States, we’ll see that many of them are from countries friendly to the US, which have not been subject to a travel ban in this case.
Trump says the countries on his list do not have capacity to vet their own citizens. Myanmar is in a state of collapse, so that’s quite true.
But there hasn’t been any record of anyone from the country ever carrying out any kind of attack on the US. It simply isn’t a credible threat.
In the end, this travel ban applies to a country where huge numbers of its citizens have fled and are living in exile – many of them hoping to find a home in the US.
There are already nearly 250,000 Burmese living in the US, and many of them are refugees with a very well-founded fear of persecution.
The worst perpetrators of human rights abuses in Myanmar are mostly already banned from travelling to the US.
Extending the ban to all citizens will mostly affect those fighting against the military for the restoration of democracy. These include activists living in precarious situations in neighbouring countries where they don’t have status – many of them hoping at some point to get to the US.
So this is a pretty baffling decision.
Haitians will see this as US kicking a nation when it’s down
From the perspective of many Haitians, there will be indignation at this travel ban, coming as it does with the country in the grip of its biggest security crisis in living memory.
Under the Biden administration and then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, there was a tacit recognition that Washington had played a crucial role in hand-picking the current leadership in Haiti and was at least partly responsible for transnational effort to stop Haiti becoming a failed state.
That ensured that Haitians in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) were in no danger of being deported to a nation on its knees.
As such, to see Haiti on the travel ban list will be galling for the lucky few with the relevant papers to reach the US.
It will feel to many like the definition of kicking a nation when it’s down, by one of its supposedly closest partners.
Why these countries?
Trump says his travel ban order is partially in response to threats of terrorism.
But besides Iran, none of the 12 countries hit by the ban are named on the US government’s State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
Trump also said some of the countries, such as Libya and Sudan, were put on the list because of the “competence of the central authority for issuance of passports”.
Many of the countries have ongoing armed conflicts. Others were on the list because their governments don’t give access to criminal records, he said.
The order also says some of the countries have been put on the list because of difficulties US officials have had deporting citizens from those countries back home.
Generally, people scheduled to be deported require travel documents from their home countries.
With regards to the partial ban on tourists, business travellers and students from seven other countries, Trump said it was because of a high rate of visa overstays by its citizens.
As we have reported, Egypt is not on the list of banned countries – despite Trump citing the recent attack in Colorado by an Egyptian national when announcing the travel ban.
Human rights groups slam ‘downright cruel’ ban
Human rights groups have criticsed the ban, with Amnesty International USA describing it as “discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel”.
“By targeting people based on their nationality, this ban only spreads disinformation and hate,” it wrote in a post on social media site X.
Human Rights First, also based in the US, condemned it as “yet another anti-immigrant and punitive action, external taken by President Trump”.
“The ban will harm refugees, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable populations, including many who have been waiting to reunite with loved ones in our country,” said the organisation’s Senior Director of Refugee Advocacy Robyn Barnard in a statement.
“Bans do nothing to make our country secure, but rather undermine our national security and arbitrarily target those most in need of protection,” he said.
Olympics and World Cup won’t be affected by ban
Several major sporting events are due to be held in the US over the next few years.
These include the 2026 World Cup – jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US – and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
As it stands, though, the travel ban will seemingly not affect athletes from prohibited countries competing.
The almost 4,500 word long proclamation contains a single line which outlines the exemption: “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”.
Travel, Biden and Harvard: Trump’s orders at a glancepublished at 05:5005:50
A few hours ago, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation banning citizens of a dozen countries from travelling to the US.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what to know:
- Starting on Monday, 9 June, citizens from 12 countries are set to be banned from travelling to the US: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen
- Another seven countries have come under a partial ban: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela
- In a video message, Trump cited the recent attack in Colorado as an example of foreign nationals entering the US without being “properly vetted”. The alleged attacker was an Egyptian national – but Egypt has been left out of the ban
- The travel ban has been met with dismay in the targeted countries. Venezuela has described the Trump administration as “supremacists who think they own the world”, while Somalia has pledged to “engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised”
- Despite its sweeping nature, the travel ban contains exemptions to some, such as immigrants who are “ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran” and athletes travelling for major sporting events
- And this is not the only big announcement from the White House today: Trump has also signed an executive order to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard University, and ordered an inquiry into what he says was a “conspiracy” to cover up former President Joe Biden’s cognitive health decline
We’ll continue to bring you the latest updates as we get them. Please stay with us.
A curious omission from Trump’s list of travel bans
As we have reported, Egypt is not on the list of banned countries – despite Trump citing the recent attack in Colorado by an Egyptian national when announcing the travel ban.
There are clues as to why that is the case.
The US and Egypt have a strong defence alliance – a partnership that the US calls a “pillar for regional stability”. Egypt is one of the biggest beneficiaries of US economic and military aid in the Middle East, receiving a total of $1.4bn from US agencies in 2023.
During his first term, Trump built close ties with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The Egyptian leader, who has ruled the country with an iron first for the past decade, has been described by Trump as his “favourite dictator”.
However, bilateral ties in Trump’s second term have been complicated by Israel’s war in Gaza.
Trump’s suggestions for displaced Palestinians to be relocated to Egypt has been rejected by Cairo, which is trying to lead efforts to reconstruct a war-ravaged Gaza.
This is a savvier version of Trump’s 2017 travel ban – and it’s designed to last
President Trump is resurrecting his earlier travel ban – but this time, with more calculation.
His first attempt targeted seven Muslim-majority countries. It was immediately challenged in courts across the US. Its opponents argued the ban was unconstitutional and illegal because it discriminated against travellers based on their religion.
The White House amended the travel ban twice to dispel the air of religious discrimination, which eventually won it the Supreme Court’s approval.
This time, Trump has learned his lesson.
His administration reinstated a version of the order similar to the one that was upheld by the Supreme Court. This version does not target Muslim nations. Its stated rationale for the selection of countries is visa overstay rates or political instability in the target country.
And unlike the earlier version, which was to last for only 90 to 120 days, today’s order has no end date. It merely calls for a periodic review.
Harvard calls Trump ban on new foreign students ‘retaliatory’
Harvard University has denounced Trump’s executive order, which now bans it from bringing in new foreign students for six months.
“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” said a Harvard spokesman. “Harvard will continue to protect its international students.”
Trump signed an order to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard – amid an escalating battle between universities and the US president – along with his recently announced travel ban.
“President Trump wants our institutions to have foreign students, but believes that the foreign students should be people that can love our country,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
It alleged Harvard was the top overseas academic institution for Chinese Communist Party officials, noting that President Xi Jinping’s daughter had studied there in the 2010s.
According to the White House, Harvard had a history of foreign ties with potential security implications, failed to supply sufficient information about students’ illegal activities; and had extensive contacts with foreign adversaries such as China.
It also said that many agitators behind antisemitic incidents were foreign students.
For Trump, this is a campaign promise fulfilled
For those who have been watching Trump closely over the last year, today’s announcement comes as no surprise.
Reinstating a travel ban – a key part of his first administration – contributed to Trump’s successful 2024 campaign.
Last July, for example, Trump told rallygoers in Minnesota he would “restore the travel ban, suspend refugee admissions, stop the resettlement and keep the terrorists the hell out of our country.”
As someone who previously focused on reporting about the US-Mexico border and immigration issues, I find it notable that the partial travel bans include citizens of Cuba and Venezuela, two of the countries that made up the bulk of arrivals at the border during Biden’s term.
Since returning to office, Trump’s team has often used the phrase “promises made, promises kept” – they are likely to use it again in the coming days.
Reaction from affected countries is starting to come through
We’re starting to get reaction from some of the countries mentioned in Trump’s latest travel ban.
Venezuela is one of seven countries affected by partial restrictions.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has warned that “being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans”.
“The people who govern the United States are bad people – it’s fascism, they are supremacists who think they own the world and persecute our people for no reason”, he adds.
Meanwhile, Somalia – now hit with a full travel ban – has responded by immediately promising to work with the US to address security issues.
In a statement, Somalia’s ambassador to the US, Dahir Hassan Abdi, says his country “values its longstanding relationship” with America.
Who’s exempt from the travel ban?
Trump’s sweeping travel ban does contain some exceptions.
According to his proclamation, here are some of the people who may still be able to enter the US:
- Athletes travelling for major sporting events, like the World Cup or the Olympics
- Holders of “immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran”
- Afghan nationals holding Special Immigrant Visas
- Any “lawful permanent resident” of the US
- Dual nationals who have citizenship in countries not included in the travel ban
In addition, the Secretary of State may grant exemptions to individuals on a “case-by-case” basis, if “the individual would serve a United States national interest”.
Reporter who broke the news explains why it’s just a partial ban for some countries
As we’ve reported, Trump imposed partial restriction on seven countries, instead of a full ban.
Jennifer Jacobs, a senior White House correspondent with BBC’s US partner CBS News who broke the news tonight, explains why that is the case.
Jacobs says the Trump administration wants to give them a chance to improve their screening and vetting protocols. There’s also the potential need for intelligence sharing.
The seven countries are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Jacobs also tells the BBC that the president was motivated to sign the proclamation after the attack in Boulder, Colorado that took place over the weekend.
Many Cuban-Americans in Florida voted for Trump. This news will cause mixed feelings
Seeing the travel ban extended to Cuba will cause both celebration and consternation in Florida.
Many conservative Cuban-American voters gave Donald Trump their vote in November and carried the state for him easily in the election. They have long advocated for harsh sanctions against the island’s government and its leadership.
For its part, the Cuban government staunchly disputes its classification as a “state sponsor of terrorism” – the reason cited by the White House for the island’s inclusion in the ban. It says the entire premise is unjust and intended to further harm its economic interests by forcing its isolation from the international banking system.
However, the idea that ordinary Cubans applying to reach the US through family reunification, or under other visas and legal pathways, might be prevented from doing so by this decision may stick in the craw of many Cuban-Americans, even in Miami – the home of anti-Cuban Government sentiment.
There is already a growing resentment among some in Florida at seeing the Trump administration deport Cubans back to Cuba. They have always enjoyed a privileged migration status in the US, stretching back to the Kennedy administration.
If this latest step is seen as harming Cubans who are wanting to escape communist rule, it could be enough to give some in Florida buyers’ remorse.
Democrats slam Trump’s travel banpublished at 03:0103:01
Some Democrats are quick to express their discontent with the travel ban.
“This ban, expanded from Trump’s Muslim ban in his first term, will only further isolate us on the world stage,” Pramila Jayapal, a congresswoman from Washington, says in a social media post.
She adds: “Banning a whole group of people because you disagree with the structure or function of their government … lays blame in the wrong place.”
Another Democrat, congressman Don Beyer, says Trump “betrayed” the ideals of the US’ founders.
“Trump’s use of prejudice and bigotry to bar people from entering the U.S. does not make us safer, it just divides us and weakens our global leadership,” he writes on social media.
Trump issues travel ban specifically targeting Harvard
Along with the travel restrictions on 19 countries that Trump announced tonight, he has also signed an order to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard, his latest attack in an escalating row with America’s oldest university.
“President Trump wants our institutions to have foreign students, but believes that the foreign students should be people that can love our country,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
The fact sheet alleged Harvard was the top overseas academic institution for Chinese Communist Party officials, noting that President Xi Jinping’s own daughter had studied there in the 2010s.
The Trump administration last month tried to revoke Harvard’s certification to enrol foreign students on campus under the Student and Exchange Visitor Programme (SEVP).
But a federal judge blocked that order and the Trump administration said it would give Harvard 30 days to prove it meets the requirements.
Trump says Harvard has not done enough to fight antisemitism and that its hiring and admissions practices are discriminatory.
The Ivy League university’s defenders accuse the Republican president of a politically motivated campaign to destroy America’s bastion of the liberal intelligentsia.
Strength of travel restrictions on each country depends on ‘severity of threat’, Trump says
In his video announcing the new travel ban, Trump says there has been “one terror attack after another” carried out by “foreign visa stayers from dangerous places”.
He blames Biden’s “open-door policies” for what he calls “millions of illegals” in the US.
The president says the US can’t have “open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter”.
The strength of restrictions applied depends on the “severity of the threat posed,” Trump says, adding that the list of countries under the ban is “subject to revision” if improvements are made.
This ban does not come as a surprise – White House reporter
Jeff Mason, a White House correspondent for Reuters, tells the BBC that this travel ban does not come as a surprise as the Trump administration has indicated it has been working on it for some time.
It is also similar to the travel ban issued by President Trump against a number of majority-Muslim countries during his first term, though this time the ban includes more countries.
“The question is will it stand up in court,” says Mason, and what effect it will have on people from the countries that are impacted by it.
He notes that Trump enacted this through a presidential proclamation – similar to an executive order – and that the Trump administration feels it is in their purview to enact such a measure.
But like the travel ban of Trump’s first term, Mason says he expects a legal fight will likely be waged against it.
Trump cites Colorado attack in announcing travel ban
President Trump has just posted a video announcing the travel ban on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He begins by saying the recent attack in Colorado illustrates the “extreme dangers” of foreign nationals entering the US without being “properly vetted”.
The president also refers to those coming as temporary visitors who overstay their visas.
“We don’t want ’em,” Trump says in the video.
A man in Colorado has been accused in a firebombing attack on a group of demonstrators who gathered on Sunday in support of Israeli hostages. The man and his family are Egyptian nationals.
Egypt is not on the list of countries targeted under Trump’s order.
Trump’s order partially restricts travel from 7 other countries
The proclamation signed by Trump also partially restricts travel to the US by nationals from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
Trump’s first travel ban caused chaos and pushback – but ultimately went ahead
Early in Donald Trump’s first term, he announced a ban on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.
It followed a campaign promise he made in 2015 for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.
Thousands of tourists, migrants, business visitors and US green card holders were immediately thrown into limbo at airports around the world, as airlines and global immigration authorities tried to work out the details. Many were turned away mid trip or prevented from boarding flights bound for the US.
The so-called “travel ban” sparked nearly instant pushback, with protesters in cities like New York and Washington DC taking to the streets. Demonstrators for and against the ban also gathered at airports for protests.
Court rulings temporarily blocked the policy, and the administration revised the order multiple times, variously narrowing or widening its scope.
A 5-4 decision from the Supreme Court in 2018 allowed the ban to continue, overruling lower courts that found it to be unconstitutional.
Trump garnered a major win and it was allowed to take full effect.
Remember, this isn’t Trump’s first travel ban
At the beginning of the White House statement detailing the new travel ban, Trump talks about the ban that he enforced during his first term in 2017. It was often referred to as the “Muslim ban”.
The President’s plan to ban people from certain countries coming into the US faced various legal challenges and was amended several times, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled it could go into full effect.
The White House first placed travel restrictions on Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Somalia. It was then extended to include people from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad.
Today, Trump says the ban “successfully prevented national security threats from reaching our borders”.
White House say ‘common sense restrictions’ will protect Americans
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson says “President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm.
“These common sense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information,” the spokeswoman told the BBC’s US partner CBS.
“President Trump will always act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety,” she says.
Trump signs travel banpublished at 01:4401:44Breaking
Donald Trump has signed a proclamation banning travel to the US from nationals of 12 countries, citing national security risks, according to the White House.
The countries are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The proclamation goes into effect on Monday, 9 June.
This is a developing story. Stick with us as we bring you more info.