(Washington) A wave of protests welcomed Donald Trump’s decision to prohibit on Monday the entry of the United States to nationals of 12 countries, which recalls the “Muslim Ban” of his first mandate.
The American executive, which carries out a very restrictive anti-immigration policy, motivates the registration of the countries concerned on this list by the absence of effective administrations to ensure control of travelers and the trend of nationals of some to stay in the United States after the expiration of their visas.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed his “concerns with regard to international law” due to the “very broad and general scope” of this ban.
International amnesty denounced a “discriminatory, racist and absolutely cruel” decree.
“We have no life here, and people want to escape to a country where we can breathe, where we can study,” regretted a 24 -year -old Burmese student in Rangoun, under the cover of anonymity, who had just obtained her visa for a course at Bard College in New York, describing a “terrible situation for many young Birmans”.
Burma is one of the countries concerned by this decision, with Afghanistan, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House.
” Lies ”
The American president compared this decision announced on Wednesday on the “effective restrictions” which he had imposed on nationals of seven mainly Muslim countries, qualified by his detractors as “Muslim Ban” at the start of his previous mandate, in 2017.
Four countries are also on the two lists: Iran, Libya, Sudan and Yemen.
The African Union (AU) said it was “concerned about the potential negative impact of such measures”, including on “diplomatic relations” with the countries concerned.
One of them, Chad announced “suspend the granting of visas to the citizens of the United States of America” as a retaliatory measure. “Chad has its dignity and pride,” thundered President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno.
The nationals of seven other countries are struck by restrictions in the deliverance of visas: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
“Do not be poisoned against Venezuela anymore!” We poison you every day with lies, “said Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on national public television.
“As president, I have to act to protect national security and national interest in the United States and their population,” said Donald Trump in the decision text, who says he wants to “protect the United States in the face of foreign terrorists”.
The Republican cites in particular the attack committed on 1er June in Colorado by an Egyptian whose visa had expired to illustrate “the extreme dangers represented by the entry of foreign nationals which have not been properly controlled”, in a video on X.
“Humiliation”
The Yemeni government, supported by Saudi Arabia and in war against the Houthi rebels, called on Washington on Thursday to return to its decision.
From the city of Sanaa, Assil Farès, 29, said to AFP his dismay, he who wanted to join his father and two of his brothers living in the United States. “Trump’s decision blocks everything and I am now stuck in Yemen, without work or without anything, but if God wants, Trump will return to his decision.”
The situation is similar in Somalia, where residents of the capital, Mogadishu, said they feared the expulsion of their compatriots from the United States.
“This approach is a humiliation against us, as Somalians,” reacted Ahmed Osoble Mohamud.
Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said that “the return of the ban will not strengthen the security of America but will make many Americans suffer, including those of the American-Iranian community”.
Exceptions are nevertheless provided for holders of certain visas and for people whose trip to the United States “serves national interest”.
The participants in the 2026 World Cup and the Los Angeles Olympic Games (2028) will not be affected by the restrictions, wanted to underline the organizers.
Visas for prohibited foreign students for Harvard
Donald Trump also announced on Wednesday that he prohibited visa from foreign students to integrate Harvard, an additional climbing in his conflict against American university institutions which he notably accuses of promoting too progressive left ideas.
“I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to restrict the entry to foreign nationals who seek to come to the United States to participate, exclusively or largely, in a program of studies of Harvard University (…),” the President said in a statement.
