The middle of the night in the United States begins the validity of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump to ban the entry of citizens of 12 countries to American territory claiming to protect national security.
The decision includes citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea and Haiti.
The US administration also imposed partial restrictions on the entry of citizens of 7 additional countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Trump justified the decision that the countries subject to the most restrictions “have a large -scale presence of terrorists, suffer from a deficit in verifying the identity of travelers, and do not cooperate adequately in visa security.”
He also pointed to the high rates of survival in the United States after the visas expired for the citizens of these countries.
Trump set an example of the incident in the state of Colorado last week when an Egyptian citizen threw incendiary bombs on a massive crowd of Israel, noting that the incident highlights the need to tighten restrictions, knowing that Egypt is not among the countries covered by the ban.
Angry condemnation and responses
In the aftermath of the announcement of the decision, the international reactions continued, as Iran strongly condemned the decision, describing it as a “racist”.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the measure “reflects a deep hostility towards the Iranian people, violates the principles of international law and human rights.”
As for Chad, the authorities replied with similar measures, as the country’s president, Mohamed Idris Deby, announced the suspension of entry visas for American citizens “according to the principle of reciprocity.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=att95tzumyi
Also, Afghan Prime Minister Mohamed Hassan Akhund, yesterday, Saturday, sent a public invitation to the Afghans who fled the country to return to their homeland, pledging not to be subjected to them badly.
“The Afghans who left the country must return to their homeland, and no one will harm them.”
He added, “Go back to the lands of your ancestors, and live in a peaceful climate,” directed the Afghan officials to ensure the provision of the necessary services for the returnees, and give them shelter and support.
Last January, the Trump administration suspended one of the main asylum programs for Afghans, with the exception of requests submitted by those who served alongside the American forces.
Inside the American, Democratic lawmakers criticized the ban decision, and Democratic Representative Rowa, on the X platform, said, “Trump banned the travel of citizens of more than 12 cruel and unconstitutional countries, people have the right to seek asylum.”
The decision comes within the framework of Trump’s strict policy towards immigration and refugees, which re -banned the travel ban imposed during his first term on the nationals of 7 Muslim -majority countries, and then sparked widespread protests.
While the critics of this policy see it as a “codified racist discrimination” and “inactive action in protecting national security”, the Trump administration confirms that the new embargo “is necessary to prevent terrorists from entering and reducing threats on American soil.”
