How Trump's new travel ban differs from his first term
President Trump issued a new travel ban that targets 12 countries and includes partial restrictions on seven others, expanding on the policy he put into place during his first term.
Trump’s attempts to restrict entry into the United States from certain countries in his first term drew legal challenges and protests at airports across the country. This time around, the administration laid the foundation for the proclamation with an earlier executive order focused on enhanced vetting.
Here are the countries targeted by the travel ban and how they differ from those included in Trump’s first-term policy.
Countries included in first travel ban
Trump’s first-term travel ban went through multiple iterations after federal courts blocked the initial version.
The policy stopped entry into the U.S. for nationals from seven Muslim-majority nations: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Its attempted implementation led to mass confusion and was blocked by a federal judge.
The version eventually upheld by the Supreme Court barred entry into the United States for nationals of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. Chad was later removed after the administration said it met its security requirements.
Former President Biden revoked Trump’s travel ban upon taking office.
How the new travel ban compares
Perhaps most notably, Syria and North Korea are no longer included on Trump’s new travel ban, which goes into effect Monday.
Trump during his first term developed a warmer relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and they held two in-person summits.
The president last month announced he would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria following the ousting of dictator Bashar Assad in December. Trump said he was encouraged to do so by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Chad, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen are back on the travel ban list. Venezuela is one of seven countries that will have travel “partially” restricted.
How many people are affected?
In total, the travel ban issued on Wednesday affects 19 countries.
Nationals from 12 countries face a full ban. Those are Afghanistan, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Nationals from seven countries will have entry into the United States partially restricted. Those are Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The New York Times reported that the State Department issued roughly 170,000 visas in total to the 12 countries that are banned from entry, most of which were for tourism, business or study.