Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump resurrects travel prohibition policy from his first term, signing a proclamation on Wednesday night by preventing people from having about ten countries from entering the United States.
The countries include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
In addition to the ban, which comes into force at 12:01 on Monday, there will be increased restrictions on the visitors of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
“I have to act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people,” Trump said in his proclamation.
Ten of the 19 countries of the ban and restrictions are in Africa, nine of the majority African countries. Some of these, including Sierra Leone, Togo and Equatorial Guinea, are not known for welcoming armed groups that represent a significant threat to the West.
The list results from an executive order of January 20 that Trump issued by requiring the departments of state and national security and the director of National Intelligence to collect a report on “hostile attitudes” towards the United States and if the entry of certain countries represented a risk of national security.
During his first term, Trump issued an executive order in January 2017, banning travel to the United States by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers of these nations were forbidden to climb their flights in the United States or detained at North -Americans after landing. They included students and teachers, as well as businessmen, tourists and people who visit friends and family.
Order, often known as the “Muslim ban” or “travel ban”, was reproached again in the midst of legal challenges, until the Supreme Court confirmed a version in 2018.
The ban affected several categories of passenger and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, as well as North Korea and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.
Trump and others have defended the initial ban on national security reasons, arguing that it aimed to protect the country and not to be founded in the anti-muslim bias. However, the President had called for an explicit ban from Muslims during his first campaign for the White House.
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By Chris Megerian and Farnoush Amiri of Associated Press. Amiri reported the United Nations. Associated Press Writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.