What we know now about President Trump’s new travel ban
How will President Trump’s travel ban or 20 countries’ restrictions affect you? This is what we know now.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s order banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States came into effect at 12:10am on June 9th, and the president has been promulgated to protect the country from “foreign terrorists.”
Countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The entry of people from seven other countries in Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela will be partially restricted.
Republican Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions have “a massive presence of terrorists,” unable to cooperate with visa security, unable to verify traveller identity, and failed to confirm inadequate record-keeping and high rates of criminal history for US visa over-regulation.
He cited the June 1st incident in Boulder, Colorado. There, Egyptian citizens threw gasoline bombs into the crowds of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why they needed a new curb. However, Egypt is not part of the travel ban.
The travel ban formed part of Trump’s policy of restricting immigration to the US, reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he banned travelers from the vast majority of seven Muslim countries. Officials and residents of the country where citizens are quickly banned have expressed disappointment and distrust.
President Chad’s Mahamato Idris Debbie Ittno said he instructed the government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump’s actions.
“Chad doesn’t have the billions of dollars to be given to the planes to offer, but Chad has that dignity and pride,” he said in a Facebook post. He mentioned countries like Qatar.
Afghans who worked on US- or US-funded projects and wanted to resettle in the US, expressed that they could face retaliation from the Taliban, fearing that a travel ban would force them to return to their country.
Democrats also expressed concern over policy.
“Trump’s travel ban on citizens from more than 12 countries is radical and unconstitutional,” said Locanna, a social media representative on June 5th. “People have the right to seek asylum.”
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Written by Mary Milliken, Edited by Sandra Maler)
