Travel Ban Goes Into Effect

Photo credit: Prayitno via Wikimedia

The latest Trump travel ban has gone into effect, with citizens from 12 countries barred from entering the United States.

The countries affected are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. An additional seven countries will be partially restricted: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

According to a statement from the White House, "the Secretary of State determined that a number of countries remain deficient with regards to screening and vetting. Many of these countries have also taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of our visa system and their historic failure to accept back their removable nationals."

While this move does not revoke already granted visas, but applications will be rejected starting Monday, June 9. The ban does make exceptions for Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, but may impact others and force them to return to their country where they could face punishment by the Taliban.

The ban goes into effect just as tensions in the U.S. have escalated over protest about immigration enforcement and raids.