US President Donald Trump has banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States to “protect” the country from “foreign terrorists”, according to a document published today by the White House, reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
The ban, which takes effect Monday at noon Eastern US time, applies to Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Citizens of seven other countries are subject to partial restrictions. These countries include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. The restrictions exclude athletes and their coaches traveling to major sporting events, as well as Afghans with special immigration visas, Reuters reported. Trump said the list could be reviewed in the future and new countries could be added if new threats emerge around the world. Trump said the bans were motivated by the recent Colorado attack. On Sunday, a man threw petrol bombs at participants in a weekly march in Colorado in support of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip. The White House said the alleged attacker was in the United States "illegally." In January 2017, During his first term, Trump issued an executive order banning entry into the United States of citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries - Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, the Associated Press recalls.
Meanwhile, Trump signed an order to restrict student visas to study at Harvard University, the White House announced today, amid escalating disputes between the US authorities and the academic institution, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Last month, the US State Department ordered all its consular offices abroad to begin additional screening of applicants for student visas to study at Harvard University by examining their social media profiles, Reuters recalls.
The government today hardened its tone against the prestigious Columbia University in New York, threatening to revoke its accreditation, which could lead to the deprivation of all federal funding, it reported Agence France-Presse, quoted by BTA.
A strong supporter of Israel, Trump accused leading American universities of anti-Semitism for allowing pro-Palestinian movements against the deadly bombings in the Gaza Strip to flourish on their campuses.
US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon accused Columbia University today of failing to protect Jewish students on the university's campus despite demands, which could lead to the withdrawal of its official accreditation.
„Following the terrorist attacks by „Hamas“ on October 7, 2023, the leadership of Columbia University showed deliberate indifference to the harassment suffered by Jewish students on its campus. "This is not only immoral, but also illegal," the minister's statement said.
The withdrawal of accreditation could mean, among other things, that Columbia University loses all of its grant funding. In early March, the Trump administration had already cut its federal funding by $400 million, including $250 million. dollars in health care, and the university said it has since begun drastic reforms requested by federal authorities to try to restore funding.
A US federal judge has stayed until further notice the deportation of the wife and five children of the alleged perpetrator of the attack in Boulder, Colorado, against a march calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Forty-five-year-old Egyptian Mohamed Sabri Soliman is accused of throwing firebombs at participants in the weekly march in support of Israeli hostages held by the Islamist movement “Hamas“ in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.
After the police arrested him that same day, his family was detained by immigration authorities on Tuesday with a view to their possible deportation.
“We are investigating to find out what his family knew about this despicable attack and whether they participated in it“, said US Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam.
The White House, for its part, promised on its social media account “Ex“ “six single tickets for Mohammed's wife and five children“, assuring that their deportation is imminent.
A federal judge in Colorado, however, today blocked the Trump administration from moving his wife, Hayem El Gamal, and their five children from Colorado or deporting them from the United States until he or an appeals court rules otherwise.
The judge has scheduled a hearing for June 13 to rule on their appeal against their deportation.
Mohamed Sabri Soliman is due in court later in the day to be formally arraigned on charges including attempted murder.
Meanwhile, the number of people injured in the Colorado shooting has risen to 15, as well as a dog, according to the Associated Press.