
Trump's travel ban: Countries singled out in 2017 and 2025
It was the first travel ban issued by Trump in his second presidential term. Trump ordered three travel bans against predominantly Muslim nations during his first administration. Those were contested in federal district and appeals courts.
The Supreme Court upheld Trump's third travel ban in June 2018. Trump later expanded that ban by adding six nations in January 2020.
A review of the 12 nations banned Wednesday shows half have been targeted in previous bans. Here's what USA TODAY found.
Which nations did Trump ban or restrict?
Can't view our graphics? Click here to see them.
Lower courts overturned the first two bans for apparent religious or racial motivations, before the Supreme Court upheld the third ban in 2018.
President Joe Biden repealed the ban in 2021.
Which nation have been targeted in current and previous travel bans?
Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen have been specified in past travel bans. Wednesday's ban included Eritrea, which Trump included in his expanded list of targeted nations in 2020.
Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Myanmar, and the Republic of Congo have not been singled out in previous bans.
Countries subject to US travel restrictions on multiple occasions
Travel restrictions do not apply to those:
Possessing visas that have already been granted.
Lawful permanent residents.
Certain athletes.
Immediate family members of current visa holders.
Other classes of individuals for whom the administration granted exceptions.
The International Refugee Assistance Project, a group that sued Trump in 2017, criticized the new ban as arbitrary for making exceptions for athletes traveling to the U.S. for sporting events such as the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, "while closing the door to ordinary people who've gone through extensive legal processes to enter the United States," USA TODAY reported.
CONTRIBUTING Joey Garrison, Francesca Chambers, and Kinsey Crowley
SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Intelligence experts in chilling new warning after US and Israel strikes on Iran
The so-called '12 day war' could re-ingite at any time be more intense than before, warns top former FBI expert, as American officials desperately try to get Tehran to the negotiating table Post-conflict tension between the Israel-US axis and Iran has created a 'new normal' which could erupt into a fresh and more intense war, an intelligence assessment warns. The US-based Soufan Centre declared brutal missile exchanges could ignite once more and it is possible it could even spread into the wider region if an agreement is not reached. In the latest assessment by Ali Soufan, a former FBI Middle East expert warns US President Donald Trump 's threats of a return to attacks has created conditions for war to return easily. His latest global security assessment warns: 'By threatening further strikes, the U.S. and Israel are establishing a 'new normal' in the region, in which further conflict with Iran, as well as Iranian retaliation, could erupt at any time. 'On Friday, asked whether he would consider new strikes if the U.S. and Israel had not succeeded in ending Iran's uranium enrichment program, Trump said, 'Sure, without question, absolutely.' And the report added: 'Should war erupt again, there are numerous pathways for conflict to expand and intensify, as happened after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.' After the October 7 Hamas attack, which sparked war in Gaza, Israel's attacks triggered conflict with Hamas-supporting Lebanon's Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis and Iraqi pro-Iranian groups. Tehran has provided all of these groups with training, weaponry and huge support as they have acted as proxies, extending Iran's military power across the region. Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting with Iranian counterparts this week in a bid to resume negotiations to avoid a return to missile exchange warfare. But so far Iran has given 'no indication' it is ready to accede to Trump's demand that it must end its enrichment of uranium and destroy any remaining stocks, the document warns. Trump's so-named '12 day war' with between Iran and Israel- which the US joined with its bunker buster bombing of Iran's nuclear sites, caused serious damage in Israel. It is thought 974 were killed in Iran, including 268 military members, 387 civilians and 319 unidentified dead, whilst 3,458 people were injured. Israel lost the lives of 28 civilians and 3,200 were injured, whilst widespread damage was unleashed on buildings in cities such as Tel Aviv and Beersheba. But the US administration still hopes to restore peace in the Middle East, whilst Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is pressing on with his war on Gaza's Hamas despite talking to Donald Trump about plans to end the war in the Palestinian enclave within two weeks. And Soufan warns that in Lebanon Hezbollah 'remains sufficiently well-armed and influential to block any move by Beirut to normalise relations with Israel.' Hezbollah, although it has suffered scores of deaths of senior commanders including its slain leader Hassan Nasrallah and hundreds of fighters, remains a threat. In the recent 12 day war Hezbollah is said to have refused to fire on Israel when asked to by Tehran, out of fear of a revenge onslaught from Netanyahu's military. It is believed in the opening salvos of the 12 day war that as many as 20 senior Iranian military commanders were killed along with more than a dozen nuclear scientists.


Reuters
35 minutes ago
- Reuters
Senate Republicans try to get Trump's tax cuts over the line, setting aside cost concerns
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday will try to pass President Donald Trump's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, despite divisions within the party about its expected $3.3 trillion hit to the nation's debt pile. They were set for a marathon session in which the minority Democrats are allowed to offer an unlimited number of votes, part of the arcane process Republicans are using to bypass Senate rules that normally require 60 of the chamber's 100 members to agree on legislation. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released its assessment on Sunday of the bill's hit to the $36.2 trillion debt, figuring that it would add about $800 billion more than the version passed last month in the House of Representatives. Many Republicans dispute that claim, contending that extending existing policy will not add to the debt. Nonetheless, international bond investors see incentives to diversify out of the U.S. Treasury market. Democrats, meanwhile, hope the latest, eye-widening figure could stoke enough anxiety among fiscally minded conservatives to get them to buck their party, which controls both chambers of Congress. 'Republicans are doing something the Senate has never, never done before, deploying fake math and accounting gimmicks to hide the true cost of the bill," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Sunday. "Republicans are about to pass the single most expensive bill in U.S. history to give tax breaks to billionaires while taking away Medicaid, SNAP benefits and good-paying jobs for millions of people." The Senate narrowly advanced the tax-cut, immigration, border and military spending bill in a procedural vote late on Saturday, voting 51-49 to open debate on the 940-page megabill. One powerful illustration of the Republican divide came on Sunday when Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he would not seek re-election, after Trump threatened to back a challenger to him in next year's midterm elections over his vote against the bill. Trump on social media has hailed the progress as a "great victory" for his "great, big, beautiful bill." In a separate post on Sunday, he said: "We will make it all up, times 10, with GROWTH, more than ever before." Trump wants the bill passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. While that deadline is one of choice, lawmakers will face a far more serious deadline later this summer when they must raise the nation's self-imposed debt ceiling or risk a devastating default. If the Senate succeeds in passing the bill, it will then go to the House, where members are also divided, with some angry about its cost and others worried about cuts to the Medicaid program. Republicans can afford to lose no more than three votes in either chamber to pass a bill the Democrats are united in opposition to. The legislation was the sole focus of a marathon weekend congressional session marked by political drama, division and lengthy delays as Democrats seek to slow the legislation's path to passage. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, the other Republican "no" vote, opposed the legislation because it would raise the federal borrowing limit by an additional $5 trillion. The megabill would extend the 2017 tax cuts that were Trump's main legislative achievement during his first term as president, cut other taxes and boost spending on the military and border security. Senate Republicans, who reject the CBO's estimates on the cost of the legislation, are set on using an alternative calculation method that does not factor in costs from extending the 2017 tax cuts. Outside tax experts, like Andrew Lautz from the nonpartisan think tank Bipartisan Policy Center, call it a "magic trick." Using this calculation method, the Senate Republicans' budget bill appears to cost substantially less and seems to save $500 billion, according to the BPC analysis.


The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Peter Thiel's Palantir poses a grave threat to Americans
Draw a circle around all the assets in the US now devoted to artificial intelligence. Draw a second circle around all the assets devoted to the US military. A third around all assets being devoted to helping the Trump regime collect and compile personal information on millions of Americans. And a fourth circle around the parts of Silicon Valley dedicated to turning the US away from a democracy into a dictatorship led by tech bros. Where do the four circles intersect? At a corporation called Palantir Technologies and a man named Peter Thiel. In JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a 'palantír' is a seeing stone that can be used to distort truth and present selective visions of reality. During the War of the Ring, a palantír falls under the control of Sauron, who uses it to manipulate and deceive. Palantir Technologies bears a striking similarity. It sells an AI-based platform that allows its users – among them, military and law enforcement agencies – to analyze personal data, including social media profiles, personal information and physical characteristics. These are used to identify and surveil individuals. In March, Trump signed an executive order requiring all agencies and departments of the federal government to share data on Americans. To get the job done, Trump chose Palantir Technologies. Palantir is now poised to combine data gleaned from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. Meanwhile, the administration wants access to citizens' and others' bank account numbers and medical claims. Will the Trump regime use an emerging super-database to advance Trump's political agenda, find and detain immigrants, and punish critics? Will it make it easier for Trump to spy on and target his ever-growing list of enemies and other Americans? We'll soon find out. Thirteen former Palantir employees signed a letter this month urging the corporation to stop its work with Trump. Linda Xia, who was a Palantir engineer until last year, said the problem was not with the company's technology but with how the Trump administration intended to use it. 'Combining all that data, even with the noblest of intentions, significantly increases the risk of misuse,' she told the New York Times. Even some Republicans are concerned. Representative Warren Davidson, a Republican of Ohio, told Semafor such work could be 'dangerous': 'When you start combining all those data points on an individual into one database, it really essentially creates a digital ID. And it's a power that history says will eventually be abused.' Last week, a group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Palantir, asking for answers about huge government contracts the company got. The lawmakers are worried that Palantir is helping make a super-database of Americans' private information. Behind their worry lie several people who are behind Palantir's selection for the project, starting with Elon Musk. Musk's so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) was behind Palantir's selection. At least three Doge members had worked at Palantir, the Times reported, while others had worked at companies funded by Peter Thiel, an investor and a founder of Palantir, who still holds a major stake in it. Thiel has worked closely with Musk, who devoted a quarter of a billion dollars to getting Trump re-elected and then, as head of Doge, helped eviscerate swaths of the government without congressional authority. Thiel also mentored JD Vance, who worked for Thiel at one of his venture funds. Thiel subsequently bankrolled Vance's 2022 senatorial campaign. Thiel introduced Vance to Trump and later helped Vance become his vice-presidential pick. Thiel also mentored the billionaire David Sacks, who also worked with Thiel at PayPal. As a student at Stanford University, Sacks wrote for the Stanford Review, the rightwing student newspaper Thiel founded as an undergraduate there in 1987. Sacks is now Trump's 'AI and crypto czar'. The CEO of Palantir is Alex Karp, who said on an earnings call earlier this year that the company wants 'to disrupt and make the institutions we partner with the very best in the world and, when it's necessary, to scare enemies and on occasion kill them'. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion Palantir recently disclosed that Karp received $6.8bn in 'compensation actually paid' in 2024 (you read that right) – making him the highest-paid chief executive of a publicly traded company in the United States. A former generation of wealthy US conservatives backed candidates like Barry Goldwater because they wanted to conserve American institutions. But this group – Thiel, Musk, Sacks, Karp and Vance, among others – doesn't seem to want to conserve much of anything, at least not anything that occurred after the 1920s, including social security, civil rights and even women's right to vote. As Thiel has written: The 1920s were the last decade in American history during which one could be genuinely optimistic about politics. Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women – two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians – have rendered the notion of 'capitalist democracy' into an oxymoron. Hello? If 'capitalist democracy' is becoming an oxymoron, it's not because of public assistance or because women got the right to vote. It's because billionaire capitalists like Musk and Thiel are intent on killing democracy. Not incidentally, the 1920s marked the last gasp of the Gilded Age, when America's robber barons ripped off so much of the nation's wealth that the rest of the US had to go deep into debt both to maintain their standard of living and to maintain overall demand for the goods and services the nation produced. When that debt bubble burst in 1929, we got the Great Depression. Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler then emerged to create the worst threats to freedom and democracy the modern world had ever witnessed. If the US learned anything from the first Gilded Age and the fascism that grew like a cancer in the 1930s, it should have been that gross inequalities of income and wealth fuel abuses of political power – as Trump, Musk, Thiel, Karp and other oligarchs have put on full display – which in turn generate strongmen who destroy both democracy and freedom. The danger inherent in Palantir's AI-powered super-database on all Americans is connected to the vast wealth and power of those associated with the corporation, and their apparent disdain for democratic institutions. Had you walked to the end of Trump's military-birthday parade and gazed above the president's reviewing stand, you'd have seen on a giant video board an advertisement for Palantir – one of the chief sponsors of the event. Tolkien's palantír fell under the control of Sauron. Thiel's Palantir is falling under the control of Trump. How this story ends is up to all of us. Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at