Donald Trump’s new ban on travel to the US by citizens of a dozen countries, mainly in Africa and the Middle East, went into effect at 12am ET on Monday, more than eight years after Trump’s first travel ban sparked chaos, confusion, and months of legal battles.
The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, “fully” restricts the nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the US. The entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted.
Unlike Trump’s first travel ban in 2017, which initially targeted citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and was criticized as an unconstitutional “Muslim ban”, the new ban is broader, and legal experts said they expect it to withstand legal challenges.
The announcement of the new travel ban was greeted with less outrage and protest than his initial 2017 ban. On Monday, the new ban appeared to be overshadowed by Trump’s other immigration battles, including furious protests in Los Angeles over Trump’s deportation raids, which were followed by Trump deploying the national guard to the city despite the opposition of California’s governor.
The newly instituted ban notably includes citizens of Haiti, a majority Christian country. Haitians in the US were demonized by Trump during his presidential campaign, with the president spreading the baseless conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating people’s pets.
It also imposes heightened travel restrictions on citizens of Venezuela, who have been targeted repeatedly by the White House in recent months, as the Trump administration’s sudden deportation of Venezuelans in the US to a notorious prison in El Salvador sparked a massive legal battle.
The ban is also expected to have a disproportionate effect on African countries, with some citizens of targeted countries worrying about being cut off from opportunities for education, professional development, and networking.
Credit: THEGUARDIAN