By McGeorge Mbare
US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation on June 4,banning nationals from 12 countries from entering the United States including some African nations , citing the need to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other national security threats.
According to the president’s proclamation the travel ban will be executed from 9 June.
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
The proclamation echoes an order from his first term in 2017, where President Trump announced a travel ban from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US, before it was upheld in 2018.
Meanwhile, Nationals from seven additional countries namely Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela will face partial restrictions.
Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen in 2021, describing it as ‘a stain on our national conscience’.”
According to the SABC, In March, Reuters reported that the Trump administration was considering imposing travel restrictions on dozens of countries.”
Fast forward, June 2025, President Trump invoked the travel ban on the 12 countries.