AILA: New Travel Ban Betrays American Values and Will Not Make Us Safer

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) calls on Congress and the American people to unify against the Presidential Proclamation of June 4, 2025, which essentially bans immigrants from 12 countries and severely restricts immigrants from 7 more.

The proclamation bans citizens of the following 12 countries from entering the U.S. (with some exceptions) as immigrants and nonimmigrants: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. It further partially suspends the entry of citizens coming to the U.S. temporarily as visitors or students (B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas) from the following countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. The proclamation also warns that Egypt may be the next on the list.

The proclamation will not apply to Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S., dual nationals of a non-listed country (as long as the unaffected passport is presented), or other categories such as certain special immigrants, diplomats, individuals coming to compete in major sporting events, and individuals granted asylum or refugee status.

At the same time, the President also issued a ban on individuals coming to study, research or work for Harvard on an F, M or J visa and calls for revocation of visas for individuals who are already studying or researching at Harvard. This ban took effect immediately.

Kelli Stump, AILA President, warned, “As we saw in the first Trump Administration, these policies do not improve national security or bolster our economy. Instead, they separate families, prevent the best and brightest from contributing to our innovation, and harm U.S. businesses that are understaffed and may have to close because they cannot employ the already vetted and approved foreign workers.

“Strict vetting already exists in our immigration system. This proclamation is a thinly veiled appeal to anti-immigrant and xenophobic extremists, effectively targeting People of Color, Muslim-majority, and poorer nations. It undermines fairness, justice, and equality. The President’s move also punishes talented international students out of personal spite.

“AILA will continue fighting this discriminatory ban, and we are calling on Congress to act.

“Note the hypocrisy: the same countries this Administration claims are safe enough for deportations by ending grants of Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole are now deemed too dangerous for entry. This is part of an invisible wall against immigration that harms our nation and erodes America’s core values.”