Trump’s new travel ban: The notable countries omitted – amid anger over ‘moral disgrace’
Donald Trump has banned people from 12 countries entering the US, in a move he said protects against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
Some countries are subject to a full travel ban, while others are under a partial ban – with the order allowing countries to be removed or added from the list.
The proclamation is due to come into effect just after midnight on 9 June local time.
The ban echoes one in 2017 that Mr Trump implemented in his first term in the White House. This banned citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – from travelling to the US.
Here is everything you need to know.
Which countries are affected?
The proclamation bans nationals from the following countries to travel to the US:
• Afghanistan
• Myanmar
• Chad
• Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Haiti
• Iran
• Libya
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Yemen.
The following seven countries are affected by a partial ban:
• Burundi
• Cuba
• Laos
• Sierra Leone
• Togo
• Turkmenistan
• Venezuela.
Both bans will affect foreign nationals from the designated countries who are outside the US on 9 June or do not have a valid visa.
Visas issued before 9 June when the law comes into force will remain valid, the proclamation states.
How many people come to the US from these countries?
From October 2023-September 2024 (the fiscal year), the US handed out more than 60,000 permanent visas to the 12 countries on the permanent ban list, according to data from the US Department of State.
The highest by far was to people from Afghanistan – 39,055 – with the most going to nationals who are employed by or on behalf of the US government and their immediate family members.
Under the new proclamation, Afghan nationals who hold special immigrant visas – people who worked most closely with the US government during the two-decade war there – are exempt from the ban.
The figures below do not include people who were given temporary visas.
Are there any exemptions?
Mr Trump said on Thursday that policy was a “key part of preventing major foreign terror attacks on American soil”.
His new list notably leaves out Syria, after Mr Trump met its leader recently on a trip to the Middle East.
Athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, 2028 Olympics and other major sporting events will also be exempt.
The ban also does not apply to the following individuals:
• Diplomats travelling on valid non-immigration visas
• Immediate family members who hold immigrant visas
• People who have been adopted
• Afghan nationals holding special immigrant visas
• People who hold immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing “persecution in Iran”
• Dual nationals who have citizenship in countries not included in the travel ban
Why has the ban been introduced?
The proclamation states that America must ensure people entering don’t have “hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles” – and don’t support terror groups.
In a video posted to social media, Mr Trump said an attack in Colorado, in which eight were injured, had shown “the extreme dangers” of “foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come as temporary visitors and overstay their visas”.
The suspect in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Mr Trump’s restricted list, but homeland security claimed he had overstayed a tourist visa.
The list was put together after the president asked homeland security officials and the director of national intelligence to compile a report on countries whose citizens could pose a threat.
The White House said some of the named countries had a “significant terrorist presence” and accused others of poor screening for dangerous individuals and not accepting deportees.
Critics, however, suggest the move is really designed to further cultivate hostility to immigrants in general, and that the president’s claim it is driven by security concerns is a lie.
What has the reaction been?
International aid groups and refugee resettlement organisations have condemned the new travel ban.
“This policy is not about national security – it is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,” said Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America.
The inclusion of Afghanistan has also angered some supporters, who have worked to resettle its people. Over a 12-month period to September 2024 there has been an estimated 14,000 arrivals from Afghanistan.
Travel ban protesters at Washington Dulles airport in 2017. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump suspended refugee resettlement on his first day in office.
Shawn VanDiver, president and board chairman of the organisation #AfghanEvac, labelled the proclamation a “moral disgrace”.
“To include Afghanistan – a nation whose people stood alongside American service members for 20 years – is a moral disgrace,” he said.
“It spits in the face of our allies, our veterans, and every value we claim to uphold.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian government offered no immediate reaction to being included on the list.
What happened in 2017?
Mr Trump’s first travel restrictions in 2017 were criticised by opponents and human rights groups as a “Muslim ban”.
It led to some chaotic scenes, including tourists, students and business travellers prevented from boarding planes – or being held at US airports when they landed.
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Mr Trump denied it was Islamophobic, despite calling for a ban on Muslims entering America in his first presidential campaign.
The ban faced legal challenges and was modified until the Supreme Court upheld a third version in June 2018, calling it “squarely within the scope of presidential authority”.
The resurfacing of an affectionate greeting to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, alleged to have come from Lord Mandelson, raises huge questions.
It couldn’t have come at a worse moment – days before Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK, in which Mandelson, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, will play a significant role.
While he focuses on crafting Anglo-American collaboration on technology, his judgment is under scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.
Newly released files, which had been demanded by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill, appear to contain notes he sent to Jeffrey Epstein.
Follow updates: White House denies Trump behind birthday note
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The messages inside Epstein ‘birthday book’
One reads: “…wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal!”
“Happy birthday, Jeffrey we love you!!” it concludes.
An image, apparently written by Mandelson, referring to Epstein as a ‘best pal’. Credit: U.S. House Oversight Committee
Mandelson’s connection to the billionaire, who died by suicide in prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, is well documented.
A 2019 JP Morgan internal report flagged a notably close relationship between the two.
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But his alleged use of the words “best pal” suggests a closer and warmer relationship than had been previously acknowledged.
Questioned about it in 2025, the UK’s ambassador to the US expressed “deep regret” over knowing Epstein but dismissed the issue as a media “obsession”.
A picture of Epstein and Mandelson together in the ‘birthday book’ released by the US Congress. Credit: U.S. House Oversight Committee
Peter Mandelson, once dubbed “the Prince of Darkness” within Westminster, is a veteran politician who served in cabinet under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
His appointment as UK Ambassador to the United States in February 2025 surprised many people.
Read more:
What is in Epstein’s ‘birthday book’?
It is unusual for someone considered a political heavyweight to find themselves in what is traditionally a diplomatic role.
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From May: Sky’s James Matthews questions Lord Mandelson over Jeffrey Epstein association
Asked about the alleged birthday greeting, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said Sir Keir Starmer had “full confidence” in the UK’s ambassador to the US.
The one thing sparing him any difficult questions from the White House is the fact that Mr Trump faces just as many himself over Epstein.
Donald Trump’s bid to fire a US central bank rate-setter has suffered a setback after a federal judge blocked the move.
The president revealed last month that he was removing Lisa Cook from her post at the Federal Reserve on alleged mortgage fraud grounds.
The move was widely seen by commentators as a bid to destroy the Fed’s independence through the appointment of a new governor who would support his bid for interest rate cuts to boost the trade war-hit US economy.
Money latest: Newspaper group confirms job losses
Ms Cook, who denies wrongdoing and any cause to dismiss her, was appointed to the Fed’s board by former US president Joe Biden. The board forms part of the panel that votes on US interest rate decisions.
She secured a preliminary court ruling late on Tuesday which found that the Trump administration’s claims she committed mortgage fraud prior to taking office were likely not sufficient grounds for her removal.
The White House has claimed she inaccurately described three separate properties on mortgage applications, which could have allowed her to obtain lower interest rates and tax credits.
Lisa Cook is the first black woman to serve as a Fed governor. File pic: AP
But US District Judge Jia Cobb said: “President Trump has not identified anything related to Cook’s conduct or job performance as a Board member that would indicate that she is harming the Board or the public interest by executing her duties unfaithfully or ineffectively.”
The ruling, which could yet be appealed, means she can continue in her role while her own lawsuit proceeds.
It could end up in the Supreme Court.
Mr Trump’s demands this year that the Fed cuts rates have so far fallen on deaf ears as the central bank voting has shown too much concern over trade war-linked inflation. Prices have risen as higher import duties have been passed on.
He has repeatedly called for Fed chair Jay Powell to resign but retracted threats to fire him.
The president may actually get his wish for a cut this month amid a deterioration in the employment market – also widely blamed on his trade war – as hiring has slumped.
The central bank, unlike the Bank of England, has a dual mandate to ensure maximum employment as well as keeping inflation in check.
Any rate cut would be unlikely to extinguish the Trump administration’s effort to influence monetary policy.
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The Fed’s ability to set interest rates without regard to politicians’ demands is critical to market confidence, let alone the central bank’s ability to keep inflation under control.
Neither the Fed or the White House commented on the ruling.
Ms Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said: “This ruling recognises and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference.”
US
Handwriting expert says ‘Donald Trump signature’ in Epstein birthday book is ‘absolutely’ his – despite his denials
A handwriting expert has said the signature on a controversial birthday message to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein is “absolutely” US President Donald Trump’s.
Graphologist Emma Bache compared the signature with others the president wrote at the time, and told Sky News: “It is very much the signature he had in the 2000s. I can absolutely say it is Donald Trump’s.”
Newly released files handed to the United States Congress appear to contain birthday messages to billionaire paedophile Epstein from both the US president and the current British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson.
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Who’s in the Epstein ‘birthday book’?
They include a hand-drawing of a woman’s body, signed “Donald”, a picture of Epstein holding an outsized cheque, signed by “DJTRUMP”, and a message appearing to show Lord Mandelson calling Epstein his “best pal”.
Addressing the release of the image in a post on X, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “As I have said all along, it’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.”
Emma Bache said it was ‘almost impossible’ to forge President Trump’s signature
But Ms Bache was unequivocal.
“It’s incredibly distinctive. If we look at the way he has formed the ‘o’ of Donald, it’s actually a circle.
“He also has a very long horizontal stroke at the end of his name – which funnily enough is saying to people ‘keep away’ – and it’s absolutely identical in pressure, in length and formation of about every single stroke (to his current official signature).”
The note released on Monday. Pic: X/OversightDems
She said the capital ‘D’ of his name in the Epstein message, was also very distinctive and exactly the same as another letter written in 1996 and 2000.
The files were handed over following a demand by the Oversight Committee of the US Congress and are from a book compiled by Epstein’s co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, to celebrate his 50th birthday in 2003.
More from Sky:
Explainer: What is in the ‘birthday files’?
Trump latest: White House denial and Mandelson notes
The White House said the president’s legal team was “aggressively pursuing litigation”.
Ms Bache said she was “not surprised he would deny it”.
She added: “He has an awful lot to lose, but it doesn’t affect my analysis of it.”
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‘You will listen to me – I am right’
After examining a number of his signatures under a microscope, she concluded: “The idea that it could be forged would be almost impossible. I certainly wouldn’t be able to get anywhere close to Donald Trump’s handwriting.
“It’s a very confident, very speedy signature and when you forge something, you do it more slowly.”
She said his modern signature had changed a little but still had clear similarities.
Donald Trump’s signature in more recent times as president
She added: “His modern signature is all angles and in graphology, angles are about energy, aggression, there’s a tension there.
“There’s no softness and his communication style is one of ‘you will listen to me and I am right’.
A letter sent by Trump to radio host Larry King in 1999. Pic: Julien*s auction house
And another in 2006 to lawyer George Conway shows a similar signature. Pic: George Conway/X
Ambassador’s denial
Lord Mandelson has also come under scrutiny for his relationship with Epstein – and the release of the files has compounded the issue.
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Lord Mandelson tells Sky: ‘I wish I’d never met Epstein’
They appear to include a glowing contribution from the Labour grandee, with him calling Epstein his “best pal” and writing of the friend “taking you by surprise… in one of his glorious homes he likes to share with his friends (yum yum)”.
Lord Mandelson’s spokesman said he “very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein”.
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