Trump's Controversial Ban: Citizens of 12 Nations Barred Entry to U.S.

President Donald Trump has restricted access for citizens of seven countries and prohibited nationals of twelve countries, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, from entering the United States on the grounds of national security.

The limitations are being described as extending and reviving a key Trump administration strategy.

Citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen are all prohibited from traveling.

Citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela who are not in the United States and do not have a valid visa are prohibited from entering the country due to the policy change.

Trump's extraordinary immigration enforcement effort since taking office has tested the boundaries of executive authority and caused him to conflict with federal judges who are attempting to hold him in check.

The travel restriction is the consequence of an executive order that Trump signed on January 20th, mandating that the Director of National Intelligence, along with the departments of State and Homeland Security, provide a report on "hostile attitudes" toward the United States.

According to the administration, the goal is 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."

Trump linked the new ban to a terror attack that occurred in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday, claiming in a social media video that it highlighted the risks faced by certain tourists who overstay their visas. The attack suspect hails from Egypt, which is not on Trump's list of prohibited nations. He overstayed a tourist visa, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

According to Trump, citizens of nations included by the ban present "terrorism-related" and "public-safety" threats in addition to the possibility of overstaying their visas. Additionally, he claimed that several of these nations had "poor" screening and vetting procedures or had a history of refusing to repatriate their own residents.

"We're not interested in them," Trump declared.

Afghanistan's admission infuriated some supporters who have been working to relocate its citizens. Afghans on Special Immigrant Visas, who often collaborated most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade war in Afghanistan, are exempt from the restriction.

In a letter distributed Wednesday night, the administration stated that if the governments of designated nations make "material improvements" to their own policies and practices, the list may be modified. "As threats emerge around the world," new nations may be added.