The Trump administration signed a proclamation Wednesday suspending travel to the U.S. for citizens from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Citing national security interests, the proclamation states that the identified countries lack sufficient vetting and screening processes needed to detect foreign nationals who may pose safety or terrorism threats to the U.S.
The proclamation also partially restricted entrance for nationals of seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Other considerations include a country’s information-sharing policies, presence of terrorists, visa overstay rates and whether citizens who are sent back are readily accepted, it said.
The ban is set to take effect on Monday at 12:01 a.m. ET.
The decision was based on information provided by the U.S. secretary of state, in coordination with the U.S. attorney general, the secretary of homeland security, and the director of national intelligence, the proclamation stated.
The policy mirrors a similar travel ban announced in January 2017, one week into Trump’s first term, which banned travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. That policy, while largely criticized, was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
That ban was later ended by President Joe Biden in 2021.
The new policy applies to foreigners from the named countries who are outside of the United States and who lack visas to enter as of Monday, June 9.
Certain travelers are excepted from the rule, including U.S. permanent residents, athletes traveling to attend major sporting events, and immediate family members with “clear and convincing evidence of identity and family relationship,” it states.
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