US President Donald Trump signed a new travel ban on Wednesday targeting 12 countries — including Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen — reviving one of the most controversial measures from his first term.
Trump said the measure was spurred by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.
The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Trump also imposed a partial ban on travellers from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from these countries will be allowed.
The bans go into effect on Monday, the White House said.
“The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted,” Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office posted on X.
“We don’t want them.”
World Cup, Olympics excluded
The ban will, however, not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, as well as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump’s order said.
Trump separately on Wednesday announced a ban on visas for foreign students who are set to begin attending Harvard University, ramping up his crackdown on what he regards as a bastion of liberalism.
The US leader compared the new measures to the “powerful” ban he imposed on a number of mainly Muslim countries in his first term, which caused travel disruption across the world.
Trump said that the 2017 ban had stopped the US from suffering terror attacks that happened in Europe.
“We will not let what happened in Europe happen in America,” Trump said.
“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.”
Venezuela hit back by warning that the United States itself was a dangerous destination.
“Being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans,” Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said after the announcement, warning citizens against travel there.
Trump’s new travel ban could, however, face legal challenges, as have many of the drastic measures he has taken in his whirlwind return to office.
‘Terrorists’
The White House unveiled the new ban with virtually no warning, minutes after Trump had addressed some 3,000 political appointees from his balcony at a celebratory “summer soiree”.
Trump also made the announcement with no reporters present, an unusual move after sharing many of his most headline-grabbing policy announcements at signing ceremonies in the Oval Office.
But rumours of a new Trump travel ban had circulated following the attack in Colorado, with his administration vowing to pursue “terrorists” living in the US on visas.
Suspect Mohammed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national according to court documents, is alleged to have thrown fire bombs and sprayed burning gasoline at a group of people who had gathered on Sunday in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
US Homeland Security officials said Soliman was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022.
“President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said on X.
Trump’s proclamation gave specific reasons for each country in his proclamation, which says it is aimed at protecting the United States from “foreign terrorists and other national security” threats.
Notably, Egypt was not on the list of countries facing travel restrictions.
For Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen, it said they lacked “competent” central authorities for processing passports and vetting.
Iran, with which the United States is in negotiations on a possible nuclear deal, was included as it is a “state sponsor of terrorism”, the order said.
“The impact of the ban will once again be felt by Americans who were denied the ability to see their loved ones at weddings, funerals, or the birth of a child,” said National Iranian American Council president Jamal Abdi.
For most of the other countries, Trump’s order cited an above-average likelihood that people would overstay their visas.
Trump administration ramps up attack on Harvard, Columbia
Meanwhile, Trump ramped up his campaign against top US universities on Wednesday, banning visas for all foreign students coming to attend Harvard and threatening to strip Columbia of its academic accreditation.
Trump is seeking to bring the universities to heel with claims that their international students pose a national security threat, that they ignored anti-Semitism on campus, and perpetuate liberal bias.
A proclamation issued by the White House late on Wednesday declared that the entrance of international students to begin a course at Harvard would be “suspended and limited” for six months, and that existing overseas enrollees could have their visas terminated.
“Harvard’s conduct has rendered it an unsuitable destination for foreign students and researchers,” said the order.
“I’m trembling. This is outrageous,” Karl Molden, a Harvard government and classics student from Austria, told AFP.
“He is abusing his executive power to harm Harvard as much as he can.”
“My god!” said another international student at Harvard, who declined to be named for fear of retribution, on learning of the executive order.
“This is such a disgrace.”
The announcement came after the Trump administration’s earlier efforts to terminate Harvard’s right to enrol and host foreign students were stalled by a judge.
The government has already cut around $3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution from any future federal funding.
Trump has also singled out international students at Harvard, who in the 2024-2025 academic year accounted for 27 per cent of total enrollment, and a major source of income.
“This is yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights,” a university spokesman said.
“Harvard will continue to protect its international students.”
The latest sweeping action against Harvard came as Trump’s education secretary threatened on Wednesday to strip Columbia University of its accreditation.
The Republican has targeted the New York Ivy League institution for allegedly ignoring harassment of Jewish students, throwing all of its federal funding into doubt.
Unlike Harvard, several top institutions — including Columbia — have already bowed to far-reaching demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.
But Wednesday’s official action suggested it was not enough for Trump.
“Columbia University looked the other way as Jewish students faced harassment,” US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said on X.
She accused the school of breaking rules prohibiting recipients of federal funding from discriminating on the basis of race, colour, or national origin.
In the statement, the US Education Department said its civil rights office had contacted Columbia’s accreditation body about the alleged violation.
Withdrawing Columbia’s accreditation would see it lose access to all federal funding — a very significant proportion of the university’s income. Students attending the university would also not be able to receive federal grants and loans towards tuition.
Critics accuse the Trump administration of using allegations of anti-Semitism to target educational elites and bring universities to their knees.
The administration has already put $400 million of Columbia’s funding under review, prompting the university in March to announce a package of concessions to the government around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and conducting oversight for specific academic departments.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, a Columbia spokesperson said the university is “aware of the concerns” raised by the government with its accreditation body.
“We have addressed those concerns directly with Middle States,” the spokesperson said, adding that “Columbia is deeply committed to combating anti-Semitism on our campus”. “We take this issue seriously and are continuing to work with the federal government to address it. “
