President Trump has issued an executive order banning travel from 12 countries entirely, with partial restrictions for seven others, due to national security concerns following a terror attack. Past bans are revisited as Biden’s administration confronts a politicized immigration policy legacy.
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Wednesday, extending travel bans and imposing restrictions on citizens traveling from several countries due to security concerns. The order restricts travel entirely for nationals from twelve specific nations, while citizens from an additional seven countries face partial restrictions. This marks a significant continuation of the administration’s controversial travel policies initiated during Trump’s first term.
The twelve countries facing a complete travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Meanwhile, the nations with partial restrictions include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, which have been identified with higher than average visa overstay rates or insufficient collaboration with US immigration authorities.
Trump’s decision comes in the wake of a recent attack at a Jewish protest in Colorado, which the administration attributed to a man who was reportedly in the U.S. illegally. In a video message, Trump highlighted the attack as indicative of the dangers posed by foreign nationals who enter without thorough vetting, asserting, “The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers faced by our country.”
To justify the restrictions, the White House pointed to various concerns, including the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan and the statesponsored terrorism purportedly stemming from nations like Iran and Cuba. They also cited the recent waves of illegal migrants from Haiti during the Biden administration as a contributing factor. Additionally, Chad and Eritrea were highlighted due to their high rates of visa overstays, at 49.54 percent and 55.43 percent respectively, further compounding the reasons for these bans.
The partial restrictions specifically limit the issuance of multiple types of visas—immigrant and nonimmigrant, including B-1, B-2, F, M, and J visas—due to the concerning overstay rates in those countries. Notably, this isn’t the first time Trump has enacted such bans; similar restrictions were put in place during his earlier presidency, affecting travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Those travel policies were scrutinized, underwent various legal battles, and were ultimately upheld by the US Supreme Court in a key ruling in 2018.
In a significant shift, current President Joe Biden has called the previous ban, which he later repealed upon taking office in 2021, “a stain on our national conscience.” As changes continue in US immigration policy, the implications of Trump’s latest order are likely to unfold in the coming days, as scrutiny and debate heat up around these restrictions once again.
In conclusion, Trump’s recent executive order reinforces restrictive travel policies targeting specific nations, citing national security concerns following a domestic terror attack. The measure, while a repeat of past strategies that have been legally contested, indicates an ongoing focus on immigration and security. As the Biden administration seeks to move away from such bans, the situation highlights a critical pause in US immigration policies that resonates across political lines.
Original Source: www.hindustantimes.com
