The magnitude of illegal immigration, fear of terrorism and other security concerns, visa violations, refusal to accept deportees, and the administrative incapacity of the countries listed lie at the root of the ban.
On 4 June, US President Donald Trump issued a proclamation addressing issues of national security arising from the entry of foreigners into the US. The proclamation banned entry to the US of citizens of 12 countries.
The magnitude of illegal immigration, fear of terrorism and other security concerns, visa violations, refusal to accept deportees, and the administrative incapacity of the countries listed lie at the root of the ban.
The United States has an enormous problem of illegal immigrants and visa over-stayers. As per 2021 figures, there were over 11 million unauthorised immigrants in the US. Among these, Mexicans dominated, accounting for 2.5 million. These were followed by El Salvadorians (751,000); Hondurans (564,000); Indians (400,000); Filipinos (309,000); Venezuelans (251,000); Chinese (241,000); Colombians (201,000); and Brazilians (195,000).
The US reported nearly 11 million “unauthorized border encounters” between October 2019 and June 2024. “Unauthorized border encounters” is a term denoting two categories: (1) those apprehended and temporarily detained by the US Border Patrol; (2) those seeking legal admission at official ports of entry but who are found ineligible by officers of the Office of Field Operations (OFO).
Visa overstayers are the other problem. In the fiscal year of 2023, visa overstayers totalled 510,400. African nations led in this category, with some overstay rates touching 30 to 50 per cent. High shares of overstayers also came from Haiti, Myanmar and Laos, as well as Yemen, Bhutan and Turkmenistan. The overstay rate for Indians was 1.4 per cent.
Trump’s Proclamation
Trump’s proclamation of 4 June states the problem and its solution clearly. To quote him fully, he said:
“During my first Administration, I restricted the entry of foreign nationals into the United States, which successfully prevented national security threats from reaching our borders and which the Supreme Court upheld.”
“In Executive Order 14161 of January 20, 2025 (Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats), I stated that it is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”
“I also stated that the United States must be vigilant during the visa-issuance process to ensure that those aliens approved for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans or our national interests. More importantly, the United States must identify such aliens before their admission or entry into the United States.”
“And the United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security.”
“I directed the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, to identify countries throughout the world for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a full or partial suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.”
“After completing that process, the Secretary of State determined that a number of countries remain deficient with regards to screening and vetting. Many of these countries have also taken advantage of the United States in their exploitation of our visa system and their historic failure to accept back their removable nationals.”
“I remain 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.”
“Nationals of some countries also pose significant risks of overstaying their visas in the United States, which increases burdens on immigration and law enforcement components of the United States, and often exacerbates other risks related to national security and public safety.”
“Some of the countries with inadequacies face significant challenges to reform efforts. Others have made important improvements to their protocols and procedures, and I commend them for these efforts. But until countries with identified inadequacies address them, members of my Cabinet have recommended certain conditional restrictions and limitations. I have considered and largely accepted those recommendations and impose the limitations set forth below.”
Main Targets
The reasons for banning citizens of Afghanistan are – the Taliban, which is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, controls Afghanistan; Afghanistan lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents. It does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.
Burma or Myanmar has historically not cooperated with the US to accept back their removable nationals.
Chad showed overstay rates between 49.54 to 55.64 per cent. This, Trump said, showed a “blatant disregard for United States immigration laws.” Equatorial Guinea had a B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate between 21.98 and 70.18 per cent. The US questions the competence of the central authority for issuance of passports or civil documents in Eritrea. Criminal records are not available to the US for Eritrean nationals. Eritrea has also refused to accept back its removable nationals.
Hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the US during the Biden Administration. This influx harms American communities by creating acute risks of increased overstay rates, establishment of criminal networks, and other national security threats. As is widely known, Haiti lacks a central authority with sufficient availability and dissemination of law enforcement information necessary to ensure its nationals do not undermine the national security of the United States, the proclamation said.
Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, the proclamation said. “Iran regularly fails to cooperate with the US in identifying security risks, is the source of significant terrorism around the world, and has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals.”
Libya has no competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents. “The historical terrorist presence within Libya’s territory amplifies the risks posed by the entry into the United States of its nationals.”
Somalia lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures. Somalia stands apart from other countries in the degree to which its government lacks command and control of its territory, which greatly limits the effectiveness of its national capabilities in a variety of respects.
A persistent terrorist threat also emanates from Somalia’s territory. The US Government has identified Somalia as a terrorist safe haven. Terrorists use regions of Somalia as safe havens from which they plan, facilitate, and conduct their operations.
Somalia also remains a destination for individuals attempting to join terrorist groups that threaten the national security of the United States. Additionally, Somalia has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals.
Sudan lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures. Yemen also lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents. It does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures. The government does not have physical control over its own territory. Since 20 January 2025, Yemen has been the site of active US military operations.
Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism, the proclamation said. The Government of Cuba does not cooperate or share sufficient law enforcement information with the United States. Cuba has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals.
Venezuela lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures. Venezuela has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals. Laos has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals. Sierra Leone too has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals and hence the ban.
The proclamation also lists some categories which are exempted from the ban.