Africa is the continent worst affected by the travel ban announced by US President Donald Trump, with seven of the 12 countries on the list, which comes into effect on Monday.
The order prohibits people from Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan – as well as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran and Yemen – from entering the US.
In addition, there will be travel restrictions on people from Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – they will no longer be able to travel to the US on certain visas.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on X.
The US president said the list could be revised if “material improvements” were made and additional countries could also be added as “threats emerge around the world”.
The White House said these “common-sense restrictions” would “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”.
In a video posted to his Truth Social website, Trump said the recent alleged terror attack in Boulder, Colorado “underscored the extreme dangers” posed by foreign nationals who had not been “properly vetted”.
However, the suspect in that attack is an Egyptian national and Egypt is not one of the affected countries.
According to the White House explanation of the travel ban, countries such as Libya, Somalia and Sudan lack competent authorities which can issue passports or civil documents and conduct “appropriate screening measures”.
All are currently embroiled in civil wars.
In addition, the White House said: “A persistent terrorist threat also emanates from Somalia’s territory” and there was a “historical terrorist presence within Libya’s territory”.
The other countries affected had high rates of people overstaying their visas, ranging from 15% in Togo to 70% for some types of visa for nationals of Equatorial Guinea.
The African Union said it was “concerned about the potential negative impact” of these measures and called on the US to adopt “a more consultative approach… with the countries concerned.”
Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address any security issues.
In a statement, Somali ambassador to the US, Dahir Hassan Abdi, said his country “values its longstanding relationship” with America.
The ban takes effect on 9 June, a cushion that avoids the chaos that unfolded at airports nationwide when a similar measure took effect with virtually no notice eight years ago.
Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.
Dual nationals and athletes in major sporting events such as the 2026 men’s football World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will not be affected.
The travel ban fulfils a promise Trump made during his 2024 election campaign and is likely to draw swift legal challenges.
He signed a similar order in 2017, during his first term in office.
It featured some of the same countries as his latest order, including Libya, Somalia and Iran.
Critics called that a “Muslim ban” as the seven countries initially listed were Muslim majority.
The White House revised the policy, ultimately adding two non-Muslim majority countries, North Korea and Venezuela.
This was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience”.
Source: bbc.com
