Sudan, Somali citizens among those banned from US by Trump
He says he directed the US Secretary of State to re-evaluate countries considered high risk for security threats on return to White House
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the nation, citing that they are a threat to national security.
The 12 countries are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Trump’s latest move is also likely to see Somali and Sudan refugees in some countries such as Kenya face
Residents from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela will also face partial restrictions on entering the United States. Starting next month, the new policy signed by Trump includes sending suspected Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador and taking steps to prevent some international students from enrolling or remaining in the US.
While noting that travel restrictions were some of his most successful policies during his first term, Trump revealed that, upon beginning his second term, he directed the US Secretary of State to re-evaluate countries considered high risk for security threats.
“I directed the Secretary of State to perform a security review of high-risk regions and make recommendations for where restrictions should be imposed,” Trump stated.
According to the US President, the analysis used to identify high-threat countries included several key factors related to national security, including the presence of large-scale terrorist networks, a lack of cooperation on visa security measures, difficulties in verifying the identities of travellers, poor record-keeping of criminal histories and consistently high rates of visa overstays.
“Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country that we cannot safely and reliably vet or screen those who seek to enter the United States. That is why I am signing a new executive order placing travel restrictions on countries including Yemen, Somalia, Haiti, Libya and numerous others,” he said.
He added that the list will be subject to revision while noting that other countries can be added to it in future.
“The strengths of the restrictions we are applying depend on the severity of the threat posed. The list is subject to revision based on whether material progress is made. Likewise, new countries can be added as threats emerge around the world, but we will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm, and nothing will stop us from keeping America safe,” Trump said.
