President Trump has targeted the citizens of a dozen countries as part of a new ban on travel to the United States and restricted travel from several more.
The restrictions touch more parts of the world and will most likely affect more people than similar travel bans that were introduced during the first Trump administration.
All travelers who are citizens of countries in the first tier will be barred entry, while those countries in the second tier face the suspension of certain visas.
Shortly after he first took office in 2017, Mr. Trump tried to bar travelers from seven mostly Muslim-majority countries. Five of those countries are on the new list, plus several more countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, as well as Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela.
What happened under the previous travel bans?
The introduction of the 2017 travel ban led to immediate chaos and confusion as hundreds of travelers were detained at airports across the country and more than 60,000 visas were provisionally revoked. Federal judges blocked the ban within a week.
Overall, travel from the countries banned in 2017 was relatively low to begin with, though people from Iran and Syria had arrived in the thousands each month. A back-and-forth in the courts throughout 2017 delayed implementation, and then the Covid pandemic hit, halting travel globally.
But after President Joseph R. Biden Jr. lifted the bans in January 2021, travel from those countries — and from Chad, Libya and Yemen — more than rebounded.
Travel to the U.S. from the countries barred under 2017 travel ban
International visitor arrivals by country of citizenship
Mr. Trump ended up issuing a series of four travel bans in his first term, with each version modifying its predecessors in order to pass legal scrutiny. It took almost a year before any ban actually took effect.
Here is a look back at the evolution of the travel bans under the first Trump administration from 2017 through 2020:
Jan. 27, 2017
First travel ban introduced. Entry into the U.S. is barred for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days.
Feb. 3, 2017
A federal judge temporarily blocks the ban in Washington v. Trump.
Mar. 6, 2017
Second travel ban introduced. Iraq is removed from the list. The ban also exempts those with an existing green card or valid visa.
Mar. 15, 2017
Sept. 24, 2017
Third travel ban introduced. Entry is barred for most citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. Iranian nationals with valid student and exchange visitor visas are allowed entry. Several parties sued to block the ban.
Dec. 4, 2017
The Supreme Court allows the third ban to take effect while legal challenges against it continue.
April 10, 2018
Travel restrictions on Chad are removed after the country satisfies the administration’s security concerns.
June 26, 2018
Jan. 31, 2020
Fourth travel ban introduced. Immigrants from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania are barred from entering the U.S., but tourists and others entering on a temporary basis are not.
Jan. 20, 2021
President Biden takes office and immediately revokes all of the Trump travel bans.
