Trump fiercely fires back at critics of his new travel ban keeping out ‘horrendous’ people: Live updates
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Donald Trump is fiercely defending his new ban on foreign nationals from ‘dangerous’ countries.
The ban ‘can’t come soon enough frankly,’ he told reporters in the Oval Office alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
‘We want to keep bad people out of our country. The Biden administration allowed some horrendous people. We are getting them out one-by-one. We aren’t stopping until we get them out. We have thousands of murderers.’
The president on Wednesday announced widespread bans and restrictions for visitors from 19 countries while simultaneously issuing a chilling warning that Egypt could be next.
Nationals of Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be barred from entering the United States under the new order, which goes into effect on June 9.
Citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partially restricted from traveling, removing access to all immigrant visas and several non-immigrant travel options.
Liberals were quick to pounce on Trump’s ‘discriminatory’ new policy, with Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., saying: ‘Bigotry is not a national security strategy.’
Trump pads his order with breakdown of vetting and visa overstays as armor for looming court fights
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor
Trump’s 2017 ban faced a long slog through the courts, with judges striking down early versions of his ‘Muslim ban’ on seven countries, and the Supreme Court ultimately upholding a narrower revised ban.
This time, Trump’s lawyers made sure to pack his executive order with justifications, after watching judges hold up dozens of other Trump policies.
The order states that nations of some countries ‘pose significant risks of overstaying their visas’ in the U.S. It says multiple countries have ‘inadequacies’ in their vetting procedures. It cites national security cites foreign country ‘information sharing’ and ‘identity-managements protocols.’
The order also cites visa overstay rates of the included countries, and cited a DHS report that identified countries with ‘deficient’ screening and vetting. It also highlights its ‘country-specific’ restrictions. For example, it says the Republic of the Congo has an overstay rate for B-1/B-2 visas for business and tourism of 29.63 percent.
Trump defends his travel ban: ‘We want to keep bad people out of our country’
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor
President Donald Trump is defending his new travel ban to direct questions from the press for the first time. Asked why Egypt wasn’t on the list – even as Trump invoked a terror suspect who carried out the Boulder attack – Trump responded, ‘Egypt has been a country that we deal with very closely. They have things under control,’ Trump said.
His order calls for an analysis of Egypt’s capability to vet people seeking to come here.
Trump was also asked why he put out the order now. It came amid controversy and the search for Republican votes for his ‘big, beautiful bill’, as well as a public clash involving Elon Musk.
‘Why now? I can say that it can’t come soon enough,’ Trump said.
‘We want to keep bad people out of our country,’ he added.
He then appeared to veer to efforts to expel illegal migrants. ‘We have thousands of murderers,’ Trump said. ‘We want to get them out now. We don’t want to have other bad people coming into our country.’
Fine print: Olympians and World Cup athletes among those who can get carveouts from travel ban
Trump’s order spells out multiple groups who can get exceptions to enter the U.S. despite the travel ban on their countrymen.
Among them are athletes and coaches coming to the U.S. for the Olympics in 2028 and the World Cup next summer or other designated sporting events.
Afghans who worked for the US government or allies, dual citizens, persecuted Iranian minorities, foreign national employees of the US government, and people with US family members are among those who can still get in.
Also exempted are diplomats, those from the countries who have obtained legal US residency, diplomats and people heading to the UN, people with international organizations, and children adopted by US citizens are also excepted.
Egypt is not on Trump’s travel ban even though he invoked attack by Egyptian suspect
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor
One country that wasn’t included in Trump’s travel ban is Egypt, although the president invoked the terror attack in Boulder carried out by an Egyptian suspect who overstayed his visa.
Trump critics pounced on the absence online – claiming it showed Trump’s true motivation wasn’t national security.
Trump himself mentioned the attack in his video statement.
His order states that ‘in light of recent events’ to officials shall provide him an ‘update to the review of the practices and procedures of Egypt’ to confirm ‘adequacy of its current screening and vetting capabilities.’
Trump famously called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi ‘my favorite dictator’ before a 2019 summit meeting, according to a Wall Street Journal report at the time.
Travel ban puts new restrictions on migrants from Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Politicl Editor
Trump’s travel ban includes Haiti, the poorest country in Latin American and the Caribbean, which was not included in Trump’s 2017 ban targeting people from seven majority-Muslim nations.
It also includes new restrictions on migrants from Cuba and Venezuela – a move that carries political implications for Florida Republicans, who count on votes from people who came here as migrants or who have family members attuned to migration issues.
The order also ‘partially restricts and limits’ the entry of Cuban nations through the suspension of immigrant visas and those seeking tourist, business, and student visas. It applies similar restrictions to Venezuelans.
Trump’s new order issued Wednesday night calls Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism and says it has ‘historically refused to accept back its removable nationals.
On Friday a judge blocked Trump from yanking temporary restricted status from an estimated 5,000 Venezuelans by ending a Biden-era program.
Afghanistan ban is latest twist for citizens of war-torn nation
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor
Trump’s decision to include Afghans in his sweeping travel ban is just the latest twist in policy for citizens of that country seeking to come to the U.S., which fought a war in Afghanistan for two decades.
Back in April, Trump’s Department of Homeland Security announced it would not renew temporary protected status for Afghans, whose country is now ruled by the Talban following the U.S. withdrawal.
That ended a status designed by Congress for people seeking to flee war-torn countries that Trump’s team wants to roll back in several places. The Biden Administration had issued the designation in 2022 following the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops.
The U.S. government had also extended special immigrant visas to Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the war.
Trump’s latest ban exempts Afghans eligible for SIVs from the ban.
The 12 countries on Trump’s travel ban list
President Donald Trump targeted 12 countries with a new travel ban, with seven more countries facing restricted travel.
Congressional Democrats blast Trump’s new travel ban
By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor
Prominent Democrats are tearing into President Trump’s latest travel ban. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who served as a House impeachment manager during Trump’s first term, said ‘this is Trump’s reckless first term travel ban all over again.’
‘Just like before, Trump’s expanded ban on travelers from around the world will not improve our national security and will only further isolate the U.S. from the rest of world. Bigotry is not a national security strategy,’ he posted on X.
Also hammering the policy was Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the first Somali-American member of Congress, who is also a regular Trump target. She termed it ‘racist’ and said it would split families.
‘This discriminatory policy is beyond shameful. Just like his first Muslim Ban, this latest announcement flies in the face of basic morality and goes directly against our values. This racist policy will not make us safe, it will separate families and endanger lives. We cannot let it stand,’ she wrote.
Trump signs bombshell travel ban restricting people from 19 countries from entering the US
‘We don’t want ’em,’ Trump said bluntly in a video released shortly after the ban was announced on Wednesday evening.
‘Very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen.’
Trump said he hopes their efforts will ‘confirm the adequacy of its current screening and vetting capabilities.’
He said the tragedy in Boulder ‘underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.
‘We’ve seen one terror attack after another from foreign visa overstayers… thanks to Biden’s open door policies today there are millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.’
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