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Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Travel, World News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Travel, World News
Donald Trump has signed an order that will ban people from 12 countries from entering the US.
The POTUS signed the travel ban yesterday (June 4), which will take effect on Monday. Countries may still be removed — or added — before then.
Trump's decision comes off the back of an attack that took place in Colorado in recent days, an ordeal that saw an Egyptian national allegedly target a group of pro-Israel protesters at an outdoor mall in Boulder, BBC News reported.
Speaking on the link between the order and the attack on June 2, Trump said: "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, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas."
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"As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people," he added.
Trump continued to argue that America must ensure that those coming into the country don't have 'hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles', Sky News says.
The 12 nations included in the order are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The Trump administration will 'partially restrict and limit the entry of nationals' from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela as well.
With the date of the ban looming, as per usual, Trump said he's willing to negotiate with the countries listed.
He described himself as being 'committed to engaging with those countries willing to cooperate to improve information-sharing and identity-management procedures, and to address both terrorism-related and public-safety risks', as per New York Post.
Some people are except from the ban, however, these include athletes traveling for major sporting events, those with 'immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran', Afghan nationals holding Special Immigrant Visas, lawful permanent residents of the US, and dual nationals who have citizenship in countries not included in the travel ban, the BBC explained.
As expected, Trump's new order has created some backlash as Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the former chair of Congressional Progressive Caucus, branded the ban as 'dangerous'.
She said on Twitter: "This ban, expanded from Trump’s Muslim ban in his first term, will only further isolate us on the world stage."
"This discriminatory policy, which limits legal immigration, not only flies in the face of what our country is supposed to stand for, it will be harmful to our economy and our communities that rely on the contributions of people who come to America from this wide range of countries," Jayapal continued.