In a breaking announcement Wednesday night, President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping new travel ban affecting 19 countries, citing national security concerns.
The order includes a full travel ban on nationals from 12 countries — including Afghanistan, Haiti, and the Republic of Congo — and partial restrictions on seven others, including Cuba and Venezuela.
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WATCH HEREThe bans are set to go into effect Monday at 12:01 a.m.
Trump posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) announcing the new executive proclamation. He pointed to a recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, as justification for the move.
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"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." –President Trump pic.twitter.com/ER7nGM4TO2
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 4, 2025
“A 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. “We don’t want them.”
He called the travel restrictions from his first term “one of our most successful policies” and credited them with preventing terror attacks on American soil.
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Immigration attorney Rosaly Chaziano explained that the partial travel bans affect several visa categories.
“They’re partially restricting the non-immigrant visas, especially the B-1, B-2 tourist visas. They’re also restricting J, L, and M visas,” Chaziano said. “In regard to immigrant visas, unfortunately, it’s all immigrant visas — meaning family petitions. But it does not apply to immediate family members of U.S. citizens.”
Chaziano also noted key exceptions, including lawful permanent residents and dual nationals who hold passports from countries not on the ban list.
This isn’t the first time Trump has enacted a travel ban. During his first term, he barred travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries — a policy upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018 and later reversed by President Joe Biden.
As Trump stated in his video:
“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.”
