Trump’s New Travel Ban: 19 Nations in the Crosshairs
Remember when Donald Trump first entered the grand stage of the Oval Office in January 2025 with dreams, ambitions, and, somewhat predictably, a fresh coat of travel bans? Now, months later, he’s triumphantly introduced those plans, but with a bit more zing—targeting travelers from a whopping 19 countries. Let me just ask, who didn’t see this one coming?
And So It Begins, June 9, 2025
So here’s what went down. The moment Trump swaggered into office on January 20, 2025, he signed and sealed Executive Order 14161, thoughtfully titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other Nefarious Puzzles.” Over the subsequent months, folks in the national security arena were undoubtedly busy assessing which nations deserve the red card. The verdict? Nineteen countries now face a travel blacklist of sorts—all to keep “high-risk” unsavories at bay.
Starting on June 9, travelers from 12 of these nations will be waved away with a crisp “Sorry, not today.” Why? Because these countries, apparently, flunked the exam when it came to screening and vetting. Go ahead and place your bets on which ones made the cut:
- Afghanistan
- Burma
- Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
Feeling partially left out? Fear not. Travelers from these seven countries face their own round of hoop-jumping with new visa restrictions, specifically if B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas give you joy:
- Burundi
- Cuba
- Laos
- Sierra Leone
- Togo
- Turkmenistan
- Venezuela
However, a sprinkle of exceptions do exist, for the likes of lawful permanent residents and a few other lucky holders whose entries tick-all-the-right-boxes vis-à-vis national interests.
Trump Lays Out His Reasons
Let’s take a brief journey back to 2017, when Trump first introduced his travel party-pooper list, aimed chiefly at some Muslim-majority countries like Iran and Iraq, among others. Fast forward, and today’s list stands as a rather ambitious expansion. No, it’s not only a Muslim get-together. As Trump explains (some might say predictably), this revised list still largely features nations described so delicately as “poor,” possessing wide-spread corruption, and, well, nonwhite majorities.
Unfortunately, for anyone dreaming of a U.S. trip from these countries, they’ll have to wait. But, hey, in the grand scheme of global affairs, hundreds of millions probably had other vacation hotspots in mind anyway. Val Seny ski resort anyone?
Meanwhile, America’s counterargument includes detailed dossiers explaining each country’s presence on the list. For Afghanistan:
Afghanistan is, let’s say, under new management—by a group smack-dab on the terrorist list. Lack of governmental organization—especially in passport departments—certainly didn’t help its case. Add some eyebrow-raising visa overstay numbers, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for an outright “No, thank you.”
Let’s raise a glass to similar tales with the Republic of the Congo:
The Congo’s got stellar overstay rates of 29.63% on those B1/B2 visas. And don’t get me started on their F, M, and J visa scores. We’re talking beyond remedial class.
Among the highlights of Trump’s announcement was a curious nod to a recent terror event in Boulder. An Egyptian acted in that instance, and yet Egypt dodges the current ban. How intriguing…
The Takeaway? A Monumental Travel Ban Unfolds
In summary, Trump’s opened the floodgates of his newly minted travel ban. To dampen your jet-set dreams, if you’re from one of the listed nations, the road to the States is either blocked or squeezed tighter. This one didn’t come out of nowhere, but even with a crystal ball, it’s staggering to see one of the largest-scale travel bans hit the globe. So as the saga unfolds, keep that passport handy and watch this space—it could become an interesting ride.