(The Center Square) – Following an executive order from President Donald Trump, foreign nationals from 12 countries are restricted from entering the United States.
Similar to travel restrictions during Trump’s first term, the president cites national security concerns and a lack of “sufficient information to assess the risks they pose to the United States.” In addition, the president highlights higher rates of foreign nationals overstaying visas and countries not cooperating when accepting the return of their citizens.
The countries listed on the ban include Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
In addition, the president issued a partial restriction to “limit the entry of nationals” of seven other countries, including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
In a video message recorded in the Oval Office, Trump said the attack in Boulder underscored “extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.”
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen…That is why today I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya and numerous others,” the president said in the video message.
The president, who is welcoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, threw shade at European countries in his message.
“We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America,” Trump said in reference to several European countries’ open immigration policies.
Trump pointed to the Biden administration’s immigration policies, claiming, “There are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.”
Trump said that he directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day back in office to review the security of “high-risk regions and make recommendations for where restrictions should be imposed” based on risks to national security, “failure to cooperate on visa security, an inability to properly vet travelers, lack of criminal history records and high rates of visa overstays.
“Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Trump added.
The president was challenged and heavily criticized for travel bans during his first term, which included several Islamic-majority countries. Critics of the ban labeled it a Muslim ban despite other non-Islamic majority countries included in the list of restrictions.
The president concluded by leaving the door open to the possibility that more countries could be added to the list.
The executive order comes days after an Egyptian foreign national allegedly firebombed a pro-Israel gathering in Boulder, Colo., injuring over a dozen people. Shortly after the incident, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the suspect, Mohamed Soliman, had overstayed his visa and was residing in the country illegally.
This article was originally published at www.thecentersquare.com
