Trump announces travel ban on 12 countries and partial restrictions for 7 others

In a return of one of the most controversial policies of his first term, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday banning nationals from a dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti and the Republic of Congo, from entering the United States.

In a return of one of the most controversial policies of his first term, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday banning nationals from a dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti and the Republic of Congo, from entering the United States.

Trump framed the new restrictions, which primarily target African and Asian countries, as necessary to fortify national security and combat terrorism.

"As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people. 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," the proclamation read.

Nationals of 12 countries will be barred from entering the United States: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Several of the countries on the list, according to Trump’s proclamation, regularly declined to accept the return of their nationals or had visa overstay rates the administration deemed “unacceptable” and indicative of “a blatant disregard for United States immigration laws.”