Latest news with #foreignterrorism
Al Arabiya
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US envoy Barrack: Trump fiercely supports Lebanon, but won't wait forever
US envoy Tom Barrack urged Lebanon on Tuesday to act swiftly on reforms and disarm Hezbollah, warning that while US President Donald Trump is committed to Lebanon, his patience is not unlimited. 'I don't think there's ever been a president since Dwight Eisenhower who came out with such ferocity for Lebanon, on his own,' Barrack said. 'He has the courage, he has the dedication, he has the ability. What he doesn't have is patience.' He added: 'So, if Lebanon wants to just keep kicking this can down the road, they can... but we're not going to be here in May having this discussion.' Barrack, who also serves as Washington's ambassador to Turkey and Trump's special envoy for Syria, spoke from Beirut during his second visit in less than a month. On Monday, he praised Lebanon's initial response to a proposed roadmap that calls for sweeping reforms and a clear timeline to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state militias in exchange for international economic and political support. Some reports have suggested Lebanese officials are stalling, hoping to delay implementation until next May's parliamentary elections. 'The Lebanese political culture is deny, detour and deflect. This is the way it has been for 60 years. It has to change,' Barrack said, while expressing his feeling that the president, prime minister and parliament speaker were all being candid in their talks. Barrack reaffirmed the US stance on Hezbollah, calling it a 'foreign terrorist organization,' and stressing: 'This is a Lebanese problem, not a world problem.' He also delivered a direct warning during his interview aired on LBCI: 'If they mess with us anywhere… they're going to have a problem with us. They don't want to have a problem with us.' In response to recent remarks by Hezbollah's secretary-general that the group would never give up its weapons, Barrack said: 'It's a typical Lebanese negotiation. We go to the bazaar, it's the same thing; it's a negotiation until everybody is ready to really make a deal.' Barrack said Washington would assist in Lebanon's border demarcation issues with Syria and Israel but emphasized urgency. 'The timeframe… this is an opportunity. If anybody doesn't see what's happening around us, they're mistaken. We're here… we're just here to usher the speed of that opportunity. But we're not going to influence. We can't.'
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Here's what is being screened as Trump resumes student visa interviews
The State Department has resumed interviews for student visa applicants after a nearly month-long freeze. New guidance requires comprehensive vetting of applicants, including a thorough review of their online presence and social media profiles. Applicants may be instructed to change their social media privacy settings to public, and failure to provide requested information could impact their credibility. The screening process aims to identify indications of hostility towards the US, support for foreign terrorists, or unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence. These measures follow similar guidance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and align with broader administration efforts targeting campus dissent, with officials having revoked hundreds of student visas.
The Independent
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump's travel ban: Full list of the 19 countries affected as new restrictions come into force
President Donald Trump's order banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States has come into force on Monday. The directive, signed on Wednesday last week, is part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has also included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrollments of some foreign students and deport others. "We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm," Trump said in a video posted on X arguing the ban was designed to protect the country from 'foreign terrorists'. He said the list could be revised and new countries could be added. The proclamation came into effect at 12:01 am EDT (04:01 GMT) on Monday. Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said. Trump said in a social media address that a recent Molotov cocktail attack on Jewish activists in Colorado, allegedly carried out by an Egyptian man, highlighted the need for such restrictions. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the alleged attacker, remained in the U.S. after his travel visa and subsequent work authorization expired, according to the government. 'The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme danger posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come here as temporary visitors and overstay their visas,' Trump said from the Oval Office. 'We don't want them.' During his first term in office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. Former President Joe Biden repealed that ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen in 2021, calling it "a stain on our national conscience." Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a "large-scale presence of terrorists," fail to cooperate on visa security and have an inability to verify travelers' identities, inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States. "We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States," Trump said. What countries are included in Trump's travel ban? President Donald Trump cited a range of reasons for placing 19 countries under new travel bans or restrictions in the U.S. They include allegations of lax screening of travelers, 'a significant terrorist presence' in its territory, a government that wasn't cooperative enough in accepting deported citizens or residents who were prone to overstaying their visas in the United States. Here are the 12 countries placed under the ban, and the seven placed under travel restrictions: Banned from US travel: Afghanistan Trump's proclamation declares that there is not a reliable central authority for vetting nationals who leave the country, or for issuing passports, therefore raising the risk of national security. A spokesperson for the Taliban-led Afghan foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chad Citizens from Chad were accused of having high visa overstay rates in the U.S., the proclamation said. The high rate of visa overstays by immigrants from Chad, which has a population just under 20 million, showed a 'blatant disregard for United States immigration laws', the proclamation read. Equatorial Guinea The entry of immigrants to the US from Equatorial Guinea, a small central African country of under two million people, has been fully suspended by the U.S.. This is on account of the high rate of visa overstays, The White House said. Republic of the Congo The central African country of more than six million people sits west of the Congo River. It was suspended for alleged high visa overstay rates, the proclamation stated. Eritrea The US says criminal records for Eritrean nationals are not available in the U.S., and accuses the country of refusing to accept back its 'removable nationals' Questioning the 'competence of the central authority' and pointing to a high rate of visa overstay of Eritrean immigrants, the US has imposed a full ban on the northeast African country of around 3.5 million. Haiti The White House said in the proclamation that 'hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden Administration'. The increase in migration from Haiti has increased national security rates and the establishment of criminal networks, it said, adding that Haitian authorities do not sufficiently ensure its nationals do not undermine U.S. security. Iran Iran, one of the most powerful countries in the MIddle East with a population of 90 million, has a long history of tense relations with the U.S. 'Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism,' the proclamation reads. 'Iran regularly fails to cooperate with the United States Government in identifying security risks, is the source of significant terrorism around the world, and has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals.' Libya The US alleges that Libya does not have a competent authority for issuing passports, adding that the 'historical terrorist presence' in the country poses a risk to U.S. nationals. A full ban has been imposed on the north African country. Myanmar Myanmar has failed to cooperate with the U.S. to 'accept back their removable nationals', the White House says, while immigrants from the war-torn nation have a high visa overstay rate in the US. A full ban has been imposed on immigration from the southeast Asian nation. Somalia Somalia 'stands apart from other countries in the degree to which its government lacks command and control of its territory', the White House said. The Trump administration has described the east African country as a 'terrorist safe haven' which has refused to accept the return of its 'removable nationals' and poses a threat to the U.S. Sudan Migration from Sudan, which the U.S. says has a high visa overstay rate and does not have appropriate vetting measures for its emigrants, has been fully suspended. Millions of people have been displaced in Sudan and fled the country altogether, as it remains in the grip of a brutal civil war with devastating humanitarian consequences. Yemen The Yemeni government does not have physical control over its own territory, the U.S. says, and does not sufficiently vet those leaving the country, the proclamation states. The U.S. has also engaged in military operations on Yemeni territory with the Houthi rebel group, it notes. US Travel Restricted: Burundi, the east African country of 13 million people, has seen a partial ban on immigration of its citizens to the U.S. The validity of nonimmigrant visas will be reduced as far as the law allows, the proclamation states. Cuba The Trump administration describes Cuba as a 'state sponsor of terrorism', adding that it fails to share 'sufficient law enforcement information with the United States'. Barack Obama had sought an easing of relations with Cuba on the back-end of his presidency, something which has since been reversed by presidents Trump and Biden. Laos Immigrants from Laos are accused by the U.S. of having high overstay rates. The country's government does not accept back nationals who have been removed from the U.S., the proclamation adds. Entry of nationals from Laos, the southeast Asian country of 7.6 million, has therefore been suspended. Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, the west African country where the U.S. attempted to bring peace during a civil war in the 1990s, has been added to the partial suspension. The proclamation cites high visa overstay rates, and accuses the government of failing to accept returned immigrants. Togo Togo, in West Africa, has been added to the list on account of the high overstay rates of its immigrants to the U.S., the White House proclamation read. 'These restrictions distinguish between, but apply to both, the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants,' Trump said. Turkmenistan Turkmenistan has also seen migration of its citizens to the U.S. restricted due to alleged high visa overstay rates. The central Asian country has a population of 7.3 million. Venezuela As of January 2025, there were approximately 607,000 Venezuelans living in the U.S., according to the Migration Policy Institute. The proclamation states that a high number of these immigrants overstayed their visa, and accused the country of failing to have strong vetting processes for its nationals who emigrate. What has the reaction been so far? Chad president Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to U.S. citizens in resp on se to Trump's action. "Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride," he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the U.S. a luxury airplane for Trump's use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S. Somalia immediately pledged to work with the U.S. to address security issues. "Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised," Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement. Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, responded on Wednesday evening by describing the U.S. government as fascist and warning Venezuelans of being in the U.S. "The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans ... They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason." Trump's presidential campaign focused on a tough border strategy and he previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and "anywhere else that threatens our security." Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the U.S. to detect national security threats.
RNZ News
07-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Iran says US travel ban shows 'deep hostility' for Iranians, Muslims
By Reuters Donald Trump says teh ban is necessary to protect against foreign terrorists. Photo: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP Tehran on Saturday blasted US President Donald Trump's travel ban on countries including Iran, saying it showed "deep hostility" toward Iranians and Muslims. "The decision to ban the entry of Iranian nationals - merely due to their religion and nationality - not only indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian people and Muslims but also violates... international law," a senior foreign ministry official said in a ministry statement posted on the X platform. Separately, Iran on Saturday condemned new sanctions imposed by the United States targeting more than 30 individuals and entities Washington said are part of a "shadow banking" network linked to Tehran that has laundered billions of dollars through the global financial system. "The new US sanctions... are illegal and violate international law, and are further evidence of the deep and continuing hostility of the US ruling regime towards the Iranian people," foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said in a statement carried by state media. Trump's travel ban will bar citizens from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The ban, which Trump said was necessary to protect against "foreign terrorists", was reminiscent of a similar move he implemented during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, when he barred travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations. - Reuters
Al Jazeera
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
World reacts to Trump's travel ban, hits several nations mired in conflict
Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the country in a move he said was to protect the US from 'foreign terrorists', mirroring a contentious policy from his first term as United States president. As part of Trump's intensified crackdown on immigration, a cornerstone of his previous time in the White House and on the campaign trail, he announced on Wednesday that nationals from 12 countries – Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen – will be banned. Seven countries will also be subject to partial restrictions, which will mean they will no longer be able to apply for immigrant or non-immigrant temporary visas. However, some temporary work visas will still be allowed. Trump cited an attack in Boulder, Colorado, where a man threw a petrol bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators, as proof of the need for immigration curbs. 'The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted,' Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office posted on X. 'We don't want them,' he added. This latest travel ban follows Trump's executive order during his first term, in which he banned nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, also known as the 'Muslim ban,' in 2017. Seven of the countries on the new list of those banned also have Muslim-majority populations and several are beset by ongoing conflicts. Despite the new suspensions, the ban will not apply to existing visa holders, foreign diplomats, athletes and their teams, among other exemptions. The ban is expected to come into effect on June 9 at 12:01 am EDT (04:01 GMT). Here's how the world has reacted to the ban. The AU, which has seven of the 12 nations on the travel ban list, said the ban would harm 'people-to-people ties, educational exchange, commercial engagement, and broader diplomatic relations' that were built with the US over past decades. 'The African Union Commission respectfully calls upon the US administration to consider adopting a more consultative approach and to engage in constructive dialogue with the countries concerned,' the bloc said in a statement. President of Oxfam America, Abby Maxman, said the decision was not about 'national security'. 'It is about sowing division and vilifying communities that are seeking safety and opportunity in the United States,' Maxman said. The Somali ambassador to the US, Dahir Hassan Abdi, said in a statement that Mogadishu 'values its longstanding relationship with the United States'. '[Somalia] stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,' Abdi said. Interior minister Diosdado Cabello described the ban as a 'great risk for anyone, not just Venezuelans'. 'They persecute our countrymen, our people, for no reason,' he said. Venezuelan migrants in the US have been targeted by the Trump administration for deportation to El Salvador, many on unproven allegations of being gang members.
