President Donald Trump has announced a fresh wave of travel restrictions targeting several African nations, citing serious national security concerns. Starting June 9, citizens from Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan will be banned from entering the United States.

These countries are part of a wider list of 12 nations facing travel bans or partial restrictions. Burundi, Sierra Leone, and Togo are among those with limited restrictions, according to a presidential proclamation.

The reasons vary by country. For example, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo are noted for high visa overstay rates, while Somalia and Libya are flagged for terror threats and lack of cooperation on visa security.

In a video posted on his Truth Social platform, President Trump said the ban followed a review of “high-risk regions” by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The review found alarming issues like:

• Presence of terrorist groups
• Inability to verify travelers’ identities
• Poor record-keeping on criminal histories
• High levels of visa overstays

He also pointed to the recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, as a reminder of the risks of admitting poorly vetted foreign visitors. “We don’t want them,” Trump said, referring to people who come as visitors and overstay their visas.

Trump explained that the severity of each restriction depends on the threat level posed by each country. He added that the list may be updated if countries show material improvements in their security cooperation.

One of the countries affected, Somalia, responded with a call for dialogue. “Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” said Dahir Hassan Abdi, Somalia’s ambassador to the U.S.

This move extends Trump’s earlier travel bans from his previous term, which mainly focused on Muslim-majority countries. He defended the policy, calling it “one of our most successful” in preventing terrorism on U.S. soil.