Country to pull all visas for Americans after Trump travel ban

In the late hours of June 4, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation that fully bans all travel from 12 countries and places major restrictions on seven others.

The policy is a revival of the 2017 ban that was eventually repealed by the Biden administration. The countries whose citizens are completely restricted from entering the U.S. for any reason include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Iran, Libya, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Chad.

The majority of the countries targeted have a Muslim-majority population, while the seven additional countries that now restrict immigrants and those on certain student and business visas from entering the U.S. include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

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‘Neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give’

The White House justified the ban by saying that nationals from these countries “pose a very high risk to the United States” and national security. In response to the ban, the central African nation of Chad reciprocated by saying it will repeal any visas for U.S. citizens currently being processed.

“I have instructed the government to act in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and to suspend the granting of visas to citizens of the United States of America,” Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Deby said in a June 5 Facebook post. “Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and pride.”

Related: African country takes a big step toward visa-free travel

The latter is a reference to Trump’s choice to accept a Boeing 747-8  (BA)  luxury jet as a gift from the Qatari royal family to use as Air Force One, despite ethical concerns over $400 million in retrofitting costs and the security risks involved in having an aircraft provided by a foreign government.

Chad provided no further details on whether the decision would impact future visas or U.S. citizens already in the country on a temporary visa. The Trump ban comes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on June 9.

While the African nation is the first to respond with a retaliatory measure, other countries targeted by the ban have called it a mistake and a discriminatory act.

More countries respond: ‘We think that this is a misunderstanding’

“Congo is not a terrorist country, is not home to any terrorist, is not known to have a terrorist vocation,” Congo-Brazzaville government spokesperson Thierry Moungalla said in a statement. “So we think that this is a misunderstanding, and I believe that in the coming hours, the competent diplomatic services of the government will contact the American authorities here.”

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A representative for Sierra Leone said that the country is committed to “work[ing] with U.S. authorities to ensure progress” on repealing the ban.

The current ban targets slightly different countries than the ones that Trump included in the version signed in 2017 — while Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen were included in both bans, the new iteration noticeably excludes North Korea and Syria. 

The African Union, which represents all 55 countries and member states on the continent, also issued a statement calling on the U.S. to “engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned” and craft a more collaborative way forward.

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