New Dhaka Times: Desk Report
The African country of Chad has announced that it is suspending the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens. AFP reported that this decision was declared by Chad on Thursday, June 5. Earlier, the United States itself had imposed travel bans on citizens of Chad and 11 other countries.
Chad’s President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno stated in a Facebook post, “Chad has no airplanes, no billion-dollar power, but Chad has dignity and pride.”
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States, effective from the following Monday, according to the White House.
The countries affected by this new restriction are — Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Additionally, Trump imposed partial restrictions on seven more countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. However, citizens of some of these countries may still obtain temporary employment visas.
Many see this move as a repetition of a controversial decision from Trump’s first term. In a video message, Trump stated that a petrol bomb attack at a Jewish rally in Colorado compelled him to take this step. The video was posted from the Oval Office on ‘X’.
Trump further said, “The entry of foreign nationals has again proven dangerous for our country, as seen in the terrorist attack in Colorado.” On Sunday afternoon, a citizen of Egypt was arrested on the spot by police during the attack in Boulder, Colorado. However, Egypt is not on the list of banned countries, even though Trump referred to the incident.