Trump bans travel from 12 countries, ties it to attack on Colorado Jewish rally

US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation banning travel from certain countries, citing national security concerns.

The proclamation fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted. The travel proclamation was first reported by CBS News.

“President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, says on X.

The countries facing the total ban were found “to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States,” according to a statement provided by the White House.

During his first term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”

Trump says the new travel ban is tied to an attack on a Jewish rally in Colorado that authorities blamed on a man they say was in the country illegally.

“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 says in a video message.