Trump enacts immigration ban on 19 nations

According to Atalayar, U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order on 5th June reintroducing sweeping immigration bans against 19 countries, citing national security concerns as the primary justification. The controversial move, which revives debates from his first term, suspends entry into the United States – either wholly or in part – for nationals from countries deemed to have “critical deficiencies” in security screening and information sharing.

Set to take effect on 9th June, the proclamation imposes a full ban on citizens from 12 countries – Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Simultaneously, it introduces partial entry restrictions for nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, who will be permitted to enter only under specific categories.

“Prioritising national security above all other considerations,” said Trump, in a video statement from the White House, reinforcing his administration’s rationale.

The measure is grounded in intelligence assessments from the Secretary of State, Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies. According to these reports, the affected nations suffer from systemic flaws in identity verification processes, poor international cooperation, and a high rate of visa overstays. In some cases, authorities also point to the active presence of terrorist networks.

Afghanistan, for instance, is singled out due to the Taliban’s control, which has rendered document verification nearly impossible. Chad and Myanmar are cited for failing to prevent large numbers of their nationals from overstaying visas. Trump warned that such systemic gaps have been “exploited in the past by individuals with hostile intentions,” underscoring what he sees as the urgent need for preventive action.

Despite the order’s rigid posture, it is not without exceptions. It excludes categories such as U.S. lawful permanent residents, dual nationals traveling on a passport from a non-restricted country, diplomats, elite athletes, adopted children, and individuals who have supported U.S. government operations abroad – such as Afghan interpreters.

Moreover, the proclamation allows for case-by-case waivers if the Secretary of State, Attorney General, or Secretary of Homeland Security deems an individual’s entry to be in the “critical national interest” – for strategic, humanitarian, or judicial reasons.

“Protecting the American people,” Trump emphasised, is the order’s central goal, describing it as a “direct continuation” of his earlier immigration policy, first introduced in January 2017 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018, despite widespread legal challenges. That policy was reversed by President Joe Biden in 2021, who condemned it as “xenophobic and discriminatory.”

Reaction on Capitol Hill was swift. Democratic lawmakers such as Adam Schiff and Ed Markey denounced the move online, accusing Trump of once again embedding “intolerance and hatred into U.S. immigration policy.” Legal analysts anticipate immediate litigation from civil rights organisations, which have previously labeled such policies as forms of “institutionalised discrimination.”

Atalayar/ Maghrebi.org