MIAMI. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a new travel ban that restricts entry to citizens from 12 countries, while including some exceptions to avoid the legal challenges that plagued his earlier travel ban, known as the “Muslim ban.”
The ban, revealed on Wednesday, affects travelers from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Additional restrictions apply to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela who are outside the United States and do not hold valid visas.
Some exceptions are specific to countries like Afghanistan, while others are more general or vague, covering scenarios such as visitors coming for the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The policy will take effect Monday at midnight and does not specify an end date.
Legal experts say the administration has learned from the past. “Absolutely, the administration is trying to avoid the problems that they had with the first proclamation,” said Jeff Joseph, president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. However, he added that lawsuits are still likely to emerge.
The 2017 executive order, which banned travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iraq and Syria, led to confusion at airports and was later challenged in court. It faced years of litigation and was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
The new ban has built-in exceptions for several groups:
- Green card holders and dual citizens
- Athletes and coaches traveling for major sports events
- Afghans who worked with the U.S. government or hold special visas
- Certain Iranians from ethnic or religious minorities facing persecution
- Long-serving foreign national employees of the U.S. government
- Individuals granted asylum or admitted as refugees before the ban
- People with U.S. family ties, including spouses, children, and parents
- Diplomats, government official,s and U.N. representatives
- Children adopted by U.S. citizens
Trump defended the ban, citing “terrorism-related” and “public safety” concerns, as well as issues with countries’ willingness to accept back their citizens. The policy aims to address security concerns while maintaining exceptions for individuals whose entry serves U.S. national interests.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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