Trump Travel Ban on Myanmar and 11 other countries

US President Donald Trump signed a new travel ban on Wednesday targeting 12 countries including Myanmar, to “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”, the White House said on Wednesday (Jun 4).

The proclamation fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.

The countries facing the total ban were found “to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States”, according to a statement provided by the White House.

The White House said the proclamation will be effective from 12.01am Eastern Time on Jun 9. Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.

The travel ban is the latest move in Mr. Trump’s sweeping crackdown on immigration, including blocking asylum at the southern border and barring international students from Harvard University. His administration has also conducted immigration raids across the country.

The decision came just days after an Egyptian man in Colorado was arrested and charged with carrying out an attack on a group honoring hostages being held in Gaza. Trump administration officials had warned that there would be a crackdown after that attack.

“The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colo., has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,” Mr. Trump said in a video message announcing the travel ban. “We don’t want them.”

Mr. Trump has long railed against migration from Muslim-majority countries. During his first presidential campaign, he proposed a full ban on Muslims entering the country. In his video message, Mr. Trump alluded to increased migration into Europe in the last decade.

“We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America,” he said.

During Mr. Trump’s first term, he tried to enforce two versions of a travel ban, but courts blocked them. The Supreme Court eventually permitted a rewritten ban — one that affected citizens from eight nations, six of them predominantly Muslim — to take effect.

The list later evolved. His first travel ban inspired mass protests and chaos at airports across the United States. At one point, the homeland security secretary had to clarify that green card holders from the banned countries could enter the United States.