Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens from 12 countries takes effect

Opponents say ruling is discriminatory and won't work

Donald Trump has pursued an 'America First' immigration policy since returning to office in January. EPA

A US travel ban on citizens from 12 countries takes effect on Monday, in what President Donald Trump says is a move to protect America from “foreign terrorists”.

People from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are barred from entering the US as of one minute past midnight on Monday, Washington time.

Citizens of those countries are deemed to pose a “very high risk”, the White House said. As well as the risk of terrorism, it said many were prone to overstaying their visas and that their home countries had poor vetting and documentation of travellers. The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.

“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen,” Mr Trump said.

He gave an incident last Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian-born immigrant, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, attacked a pro-Israel gathering, as an example – although Egypt is not part of the travel ban.

The ban is part of a wider immigration crackdown in Mr Trump's second term. During his first presidency he banned travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, sparking a court battle.

Opponents say the ban is discriminatory and won't work. “Our national security officers should be focused on investigating serious threats, not barring entry to our country based on bias and pretext,” said the Democratic Senator Cory Booker.

Iran on Saturday said the ban on 11 mostly Middle Eastern and African countries was a sign of a “racist mentality”. Alireza Hashemi-Raja, the foreign ministry's director general for the affairs of Iranians abroad, said it "indicates the deep hostility of American decision-makers towards the Iranian and Muslim people".

Chad, anotherof the countries affected, is retaliating by no longer granting visas to US citizens, said its President Mahamat Deby. “Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,” he said.

The ban makes exceptions for people on special Afghan visas who worked closely with the US government during the two-decade war in their country. Nonetheless, Afghans have expressed fears that the ban could force them back home, where they could face reprisals from the Taliban.