Trump travel ban in effect, citizens from 12 nations barred from US
President Donald Trump's sweeping new travel ban came into effect early Monday immediately after midnight, barring citizens from a dozen nations from entering the United States and reviving a divisive measure from his first term.
The move is expected to disrupt refugee pathways and further restrict immigration as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on illegal entries.
Many of the nations covered by the restrictions have adversarial relations with the United States, such as Iran and Afghanistan, while others face severe crises, like Haiti and Libya.
In announcing his restrictions last week, Trump said the new measure was spurred by a recent "terrorist attack" on Jews in Colorado.
The group had been protesting in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza when they were assaulted by a man the White House said had overstayed his visa.
That attack, Trump said, "underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted" or who overstay their visas.
The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House.
Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed.
New countries could be added, Trump warned, "as threats emerge around the world."
Mehria, a 23-year-old woman from Afghanistan who applied for refugee status, said the new rules have trapped her and many other Afghans in uncertainty.
"We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives... on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another," she told AFP.
- World Cup, Olympics, diplomats excluded -
The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, or in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump's order said.
Nor will it apply to diplomats from the targeted countries.
United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned that "the broad and sweeping nature of the new travel ban raises concerns from the perspective of international law."
US Democratic lawmakers and elected officials blasted the ban as draconian and unconstitutional.
"I know the pain that Trump's cruel and xenophobic travel bans inflict because my family has felt it firsthand," congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who is Iranian-American, posted Sunday on X.
"We will fight this ban with everything we have."
Rumors of a new travel ban had circulated following the Colorado attack, with Trump's administration vowing to pursue "terrorists" living in the United States on visas.
US officials said suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national according to court documents, was in the country illegally having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022.
Trump's new travel ban notably does not include Egypt.
His proclamation said Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen lacked "competent" central authorities for processing passports and vetting.
Iran was included because it is a "state sponsor of terrorism," the order said.
For the other countries, Trump's order cited an above-average likelihood that people would overstay their visas.
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Politico
12 minutes ago
- Politico
Mike Crapo's megabill Mission: Impossible
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Politico
13 minutes ago
- Politico
How Trump broke the politics of Medicaid
Republicans used to cheer the possibility of Medicaid cuts. Now, as the GOP advances President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' that would reduce Medicaid spending, they're rebranding it as making the program stronger. The shift reflects the striking new politics of Medicaid — and how dramatically the GOP's coalition has changed under Trump. Now Democrats are hoping Medicaid could be the issue that exposes the cracks in the Trump coalition. They have seized on a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimate that the bill would cause 7.8 million people to lose access to the low-income health insurance program. At stake is whether Democrats can start to win back working-class voters who have shifted toward the GOP over the past decade. Medicaid provides health insurance for nearly 80 million people but was long the electoral forgotten sibling of Social Security and Medicare. It's clear in the ads: TV ads for House and Senate races last election cycle were 26 times as likely to mention Medicare, the health care program for seniors, as Medicaid, according to a POLITICO analysis of transcripts from AdImpact, which tracks political advertising. But that's already changing. 'I saw elections 16 years ago where people ran on cutting Medicaid, and there were folks who were on Medicaid who were in the crowd cheering them on,' said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2028. 'That's not the case of where we are today.' The Medicaid provisions in the GOP's budget bill have prompted new debate even among Republicans. To Beshear and others, that provides an opening. Democrats, he said, should stand in front of hospitals and 'talk about how important Medicaid is,' he said, while emphasizing 'the impact on specific communities.' Congressional Democrats have seized on the issue, with moderates and progressives alike speaking in defense of the program. The party's House campaign arm is prioritizing Medicaid in swing-district messaging. And TV ads mentioning Medicaid have already run in more Republican-held districts this year than they did all of last cycle. Republicans are cautious, with an ideologically diverse group of senators wary of cuts and poised to exert significant influence over the bill. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who warned that cutting the program would be 'both morally wrong and politically suicidal,' said last week that Trump had promised him no cuts to benefits. GOP lawmakers have largely rallied around Trump's bill by arguing the House legislation protects Medicaid by only removing people who do not deserve it in the first place. That careful messaging is a stark difference from a decade ago, when congressional Republicans explicitly prioritized cutting Medicaid and governors blocked its expansion. One reason for the turnaround: A series of red states expanded Medicaid by ballot initiative between 2017 and 2020 — largely with backing of Democratic-aligned groups — and GOP voters defied their state and local political leaders in large numbers to support the program. Nationwide, enrollment for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program rose from just shy of 70 million in 2014 to nearly 79 million at the end of 2024. And at the same time more people were entering the program, including Republican voters in red states, an electoral realignment was shifting working-class voters toward Trump. 'Medicaid has a broader and broader appeal the more people that are on it, and the more people who know someone who's on it. That's incredibly powerful politically,' said Kelly Hall, executive director of the Fairness Project, which backed state Medicaid referendums. The makeup of Medicaid users was changing — and so were its politics. For a long time, the program has been relatively absent from federal races. Even in the 2018 midterms, when defending the Affordable Care Act was central to Democrats' midterm messaging, only 30 TV ads across all congressional elections mentioned Medicaid, while nearly 500 mentioned Medicare, POLITICO's analysis found. But Medicaid expansion was a major issue in many gubernatorial and state legislative races in the 2010s. The success of ballot measures proved the program had a strong constituency, even in red states. And Trump's popularity with working-class voters also reshaped the GOP's coalition. Compared to Republican candidates before him, Trump's 2024 gains were strongest in counties with high Medicaid enrollment, a POLITICO analysis found. In the 2024 election, 49 percent of Medicaid recipients voted for Trump compared to 47 percent for Kamala Harris, according to Morning Consult polling. That means cuts to Medicaid or reductions in eligibility could now pose a political risk for Republicans. People who could lose benefits would not just be Democratic voters in blue states, but Republicans in red states and swing districts who supported Trump last year. Drew Kent, a GOP strategist whose firm recently polled Pennsylvania's voters, found a slight majority, including 30 percent of Republicans, disapproved of work requirements for Medicaid. 'These results are definitely a bit surprising to me,' Kent said. 'It clearly shows the challenges and importance, particularly in a political swing state like Pennsylvania, of getting the policy, messaging, and communications right on an issue of this magnitude.' Republicans are aware of the potential political liability: The GOP's argument about the bill, which could still face changes in the Senate, is that the changes to the program do not amount to cuts for voters. 'The President wants to preserve and protect Medicaid for the Americans who this program was intended for,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a press briefing last month. 'We want to see able-bodied Americans at least working 20 hours per week, whether that's part-time or full-time, whether that's even looking for work or volunteering for 20 hours a week, if they are receiving Medicaid.' A memo from the National Republican Campaign Committee last month advised the party to go on offense, saying the bill protects Medicaid by 'removing illegal immigrants and eliminating fraud.' Among its provisions, the bill would penalize states such as California that use state dollars to extend Medicaid benefits to undocumented immigrants. According to CBO estimates, of the nearly 11 million people who would lose Medicaid or other health insurance due to the bill, about 1.4 million are immigrants. GOP strategist Josh Novotney argued that approach is in line with what Trump's working-class base wants. 'Most blue-collar Trump supporters I have met or spoken with in large groups do not want their hard-earned taxes going to other people, whether that is student debt forgiveness or Medicaid abuse,' he said. 'That is not at odds with his supporters.' A Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Friday found a plurality of Republicans, 42 percent, believed the Trump administration's policies would strengthen Medicaid, with only 22 percent believing the program would be weakened. But Republican Medicaid enrollees were more split, with 35 believing Trump would strengthen the program and 34 percent saying he would weaken it. That is where Democrats see an opening. A nonprofit affiliated with Democrats' House campaign arm is already targeting swing-district Republicans with digital ads accusing members of cutting Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for the rich. And a flurry of other liberal groups have purchased TV or digital ads and planned billboards and other activist campaigns. 'To the extent that this is becoming a bigger political issue, it's simply because their efforts to destroy Medicaid are fundamentally more dangerous and more real than ever before,' said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), whose PAC is helping fund a group that opposes Medicaid cuts. As the bill currently stands, the Medicaid work requirements would not go into effect until the end of 2026. That means Democrats largely won't be able to point during their midterm campaigns to people who have already lost access to Medicaid. Instead, they may rely on voter trust on an issue that has historically worked for them. While polls have found voters consistently prefer the GOP more on issues such as the economy and immigration — which helped propel Trump's win last year — health care has remained a rare bright spot for Democrats. 'If there is a debate or chaos or uncertainty about Medicaid cuts, then I think Democrats stand to benefit from that because of the brand advantage on health care,' said Democratic pollster Zac McCrary. 'One of the few places where we have maintained an edge.'
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump's White House Redirects Thousands Of Missiles Meant For Ukraine's Use, Zelenskyy Says
Donald Trump's administration has redirected 20,000 anti-drone missiles away from Ukraine, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president told ABC News' This Week that the missiles are needed to deter Russia's ongoing strikes using Iranian-design Shahed drones. Moscow has been ruthlessly attacking Ukraine from the skies throughout the war, but it has elevated its strikes recently. On June 1, it launched its largest drone assault of the war with 472 strikes just in one night. According to Zelenskyy, the Biden administration had already agreed to send Ukraine anti-drone technology before Trump's second term began. Zelenskyy explained: 'We have a big problem with Shaheds... we will find all the tools to destroy them. 'We counted on this project – 20,000 missiles. Anti-Shahed missiles. It was not expensive, but it's a special technology.' The Wall Street Journal first reported the diversion on June 4, after US defence secretary Pete Hegseth allegedly alerted Congress to the 'urgent' re-allocation of weaponry. That report also came out the same day Trump spoke extensively to Vladimir Putin over the phone. The weapons were instead sent to the American forces in the Middle East amid brewing fears of a possible US-Iran clash over their delayed nuclear deal and concerns over the Houthi rebels in Yemen. But there are also Russia has not finished retaliating against Ukraine after its surprise 'Operation Spiderweb' attack on Russian airbases last week. Reports say Russia is looking to launch more than 500 long-range drones per night in future attacks. Under Trump, the White House has been far less consistent in its backing of Ukraine and often expressed sympathy with Putin over his ongoing land grab. The US president has halted the approval of new military aid packages for Ukraine ever since he returned to office in January. Hegseth also became the first US defence chief not to attend a Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting on June 4 since Putin's invasion began in February 2022. In his bid to secure a quick resolution to the war, Trump briefly stopped military shipments going to Ukraine and refused to share intelligence with the beleaguered country until it agreed to a ceasefire framework in March. Meanwhile, Trump has refused to impose sanctions on Russia, claiming it could disrupt its attempts to get a peace deal. But Zelenskyy remains publicly optimistic that the American president is the only way for the war to end. He said 'hard pressure' from Washington and its European allies would force Putin to be 'pragmatic'. The Ukrainian president added: 'Then they will stop the war. I am convinced that the president of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to step up.' Trump Claims Ukraine Gave Putin A Reason To 'Bomb The Hell Out Of Them' – Forgetting 1 Obvious Detail Putin Ambassador Accuses UK Of Helping Ukraine Attack Russia – And Comes Up With A Bizarre British Motive Trump Mocked For Latest 'Disgraceful' Chat With Putin About Ending Ukraine War
